Sweet Misery
by Tori Z. Daniels
Summary: -Chapter 29- At age eleven, seven kids were brought together at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sweet Misery is the story of their lives together through the trials and triumphs they endure; from relations to deaths.
1. Chapter 1

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Sweet Misery

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Sirius sat at the dining room table, poking at the undercooked eggs his mother had the house elf make for him because she was just too busy (busy meaning lazy) to cook for her own children. The house elf would never get anything cooked to the way any of the Blacks wanted, with the exception of Sirius's mother, whom Kreacher would do anything for, and mum's favourite, Regulus.

Liam walked into the dining room and saw Sirius poking at the eggs.

"Uncooked eggs again?" Liam asked.

"Maybe if you're lucky you'll get overcooked eggs," replied Sirius.

"I'd prefer not to risk it, some toast should be just fine." A plate of toast appeared on the table, all slices burnt to a crisp. Liam picked up a piece and looked at it with disgust. "Mmm, condensed ashes, my favourite."

"Morning!" Gwynn, Sirius's twin sister, said cheerfully.

"Toast?" Liam asked holding the plate up too her.

"Why are you so happy?" Sirius asked.

"No thank you," she replied, poking at the toast. "Do I need a reason to be in a good mood?"

"Yes," said Sirius and Liam.

"Okay then, it just feels like it's going to be a good day," Gwynn said.

"Whatever you say," said Sirius as Regulus entered the dining room.

"ALL MIGHTY REGULUS!" Liam shouted, and the three of them dropped to the ground and began to grovel at his feet.

"What are you doing?" Regulus asked.

"Bowing before you, oh mighty favourite of Mum's!" said Sirius.

"Stop it! Get up!" he said, stepping over Gwynn.

"The mighty Regulus has told us to get up!" Gwynn said, pretending to be shocked. "Such an honor has never been bestowed upon us in the past!"

"I mean it! Stop!" Regulus snapped. Gwynn, Sirius, and Liam all got up off the dining room floor and sat at the table. Liam began munching on his burnt toast while Sirius continued to push the runny eggs around the plate. Kreacher ran out of the kitchen with a plate of perfectly cooked eggs and bacon for Regulus. Gwynn stopped the house elf.

"I'd like a really burnt English muffin, Kreacher," Gwynn said. "By burnt I mean so burnt that you can't even recognize that it's an English muffin. I want it to crumble to bits when I touch it, okay?"

"Yes, young mistress," Kreacher replied before running into the kitchen, mumbling something under his breath. Gwynn sat back in her chair and waited. A moment later, a plate of lightly toasted English muffins appeared before her.

"Wow, it actually worked," Gwynn said before munching on a half of the English muffin.

"What were you expecting?" Liam asked.

"I actually thought he was going to listen too me," Gwynn said.

"Well, now we know how to get what we want," Sirius said, stealing the other half of Gwynn's English muffin.

"Though we don't know how long it will last," Liam said.

"You're lucky though, you don't have to live here that much longer," Gwynn said. "Once Kreacher finds out what we're up to, we'll have to live with the horrible food we're fed."

"It's not that bad," Regulus said, finishing his breakfast.

"That's because you're Mum's favourite, and Kreacher would do anything for Mum, and Mum wants you to be treated exceptionally," said Sirius.

"That's not true," Regulus said. Regulus was about to say something else, but was cut off by the arrival of the morning post. A large brown barn owl dropped three letters in the middle of the table and another owl landed on Liam's shoulder dropping the Daily Prophet on the plate of half-eaten toast and holding out it's leg with a pouch on it waiting for it's payment. Liam fished a few knuts out of his pocket and dropped them into the pouch. The owl flew out through the window. Liam grabbed the letters in the middle of the table. He tossed one to Sirius, one to Gwynn, and kept the other for himself.

"Hogwarts letters," Liam said.

"Knew I'd get in," Gwynn said tearing open her letter. "You, Sirius, are a bit more of a surprise."

"Oh shut up," he said. "I'm going to owl Remus and see if he got his letter yet."

"He sent an owl yesterday," Gwynn said, reading her letter. "He said he didn't get in and that must mean he's a squib. Sorry Siri, but it looks like he won't be joining us at Hogwarts."

"What? No way! Remus can't be a squib!" Sirius said.

"I'm sorry, but it's true." Gwynn sighed and folded up her letter. "I'm sorry Sirius, you'll just have to suffer pulling pranks without Remus. I'm sure you'll find someone to take his place." Sirius stared at her in a mix of shock and confusion. Gwynn laughed. "I can't believe you fell for it! You are unbelievable."

"Why didn't I notice the flaws in the story?" Sirius asked, shaking his head. "Remus would've sent that letter to me!"

"Hey, he's my friend too. Anyway, Remus told us he'd gotten his letter already. You have a horrible memory, dear brother of mine."

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Lauren Fonseca walked down the stairs to the kitchen and began digging through the pantry for something that looked appetizing. After finding nothing but assortments of pastas, canned vegetables, and horrible tasting health food her mother insisted on buying, she settled for a glass of milk. After sticking the empty glass in the sink, she left the kitchen running into a girl a few years younger than her, but acted as if she didn't notice.

"Sorry I got in your way," said the girl sarcastically. Lauren kept walking acting as if she had not heard her. The girl rolled her eyes, and said in a mocking tone. "No, no, Loni, I'm sorry. I was too busy wrapped up in my perfect universe consisting only of me to notice you. Pardon me while I wait for the world to follow my every command."

"SHUT UP!" Lauren screamed at her.

"You deserved it," replied Loni. Lauren rolled her eyes and stepped out to the back yard. She walked straight to a tall oak tree where a tree house sat in the higher branches. She looked up at the tree house, debating whether or not to go up or not. She placed a hand on the ladder when her mother walked outside.

"Lauren, could you at least try and be nice to Loni?" Mrs. Fonseca asked.

"Has my letter come yet?" Lauren asked, changing the subject.

"No, but," Mrs. Fonseca paused, and put a hand to her forehead and set the other on Lauren's shoulder, "my Inner Eye shows my that it will be arriving very soon!"

"Stop with the divination stuff," Lauren said. "Divination is a bunch of codswollop."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." At that moment an owl swooped down dropping a letter on the ground. Lauren picked it up and squealed with delight. "It's my letter!"

"I told you."

"Coincidence. It's just a coincidence, Mum."

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James Potter laid in his bed fast asleep; all the covers kicked off the bed from the summer's heat. It was somewhere close to ten-thirty when his owl came flying in from its morning flight and was eager to be fed. The owl nipped at James' ear to wake him up. James swatted at the owl.

"Go away, Apollo…" he mumbled and fell back asleep. Apollo hooted indignantly and continued to nip at James. "Stop." After being swatted at after every attempt to wake James up, Apollo landed on James' back and began lightly digging his claws in.

"Okay!" James said. "I'm up!" Apollo hooted happily and perched on James' shoulder when he sat up.

"Why can't you wait till I'm up?" James asked the owl, rubbing his eyes. The owl just blinked in reply. James shook his head and walked down to the dining room where a plate of toast was left along with a note and the mail. James gave Apollo a bit of toast and picked up the note. Once again his parents were out for the weekend. He moaned when they said his grandmother Ruth would be arriving shortly to watch after him. He crumbled the note and tossed it over his shoulder. He picked up the pile of letters and flipped through the envelopes. Bill, bill, junk, a letter from his aunt, a letter from Hogwarts, another bill… James stopped and went back to the Hogwarts letter.

"About time!" he said after reading the contents. "I thought it'd never come!"

A loud pop came from the den. James groaned inwardly knowing his grandmother had just apparated in.

"Jamie boy!" she announced. "Granny Ruth is here!" James rolled his eyes. She still thought of him as the good little seven-year-old that he used to be. James put on a fake smile and ran to the den.

"Granny Ruth!" he said giving her a hug.

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It was an average day at the Pettigrew household. Peter, clumsy as ever, had somehow managed to knock every glass out of the cabinet, just trying to get one.

"Peter!" his mother shouted, running into the kitchen upon hearing the multiple crashes. She pulled out her wand. "_Reparo!_" In an instant, all the glasses had repaired themselves. With a flick of her wand, the glasses flew back into the cabinet.

"S-s-sorry M-mum," Peter stammered, wringing his hands. His mother shook her head and handed him a glass.

"Do you need anything else Peter?" she asked. "I don't want any more broken dishes."

"N-no, I-I g-g-got-t th-the o-other th-things d-down j-j-just-t f-fine," he replied.

"Okay," she said, leaving.

Peter slumped down in a chair, looking kind of pathetic. He had always been a short, stuttering klutz. He sighed stood up to leave the kitchen, fearing he'd break something else, when and owl flew in, tumbling onto the table knocking everything off.

"PETER!" his mother shouted from somewhere in the house.

"I-i-it w-w-wasn't-t m-me!" He shouted back.

"Peter Matthew Pettigrew, you'd better not be lying to me!" she said. Peter could hear her coming down the corridor. The owl ruffled its feathers and started to clean off its wings. Peter's mother walked into the kitchen and saw the owl. She took the letter from the owl and it flew off. "Oh my…" She said as she looked at the letter in her hand.

"W-w-what is it-t?" Peter asked. She handed Peter the letter. He tore it open immediately. "I-I-I g-got-t in?" Peter said in surprise.

"Peter, I'm so proud of you!" his mother shouted hugging him so tight he could hardly breath. "Your father is going to be so surprised! We were so scared you wouldn't get in!"

"Y-y-you w-w-were?"

"Oh I've got to go call your Father's mother! I can't **wait **to tell her you got in! She was so sure you weren't a wizard! Said you didn't have an ounce of magic in you, she did! I've _got_ to tell her she's wrong!" She gave Peter a kiss on the cheek before running to the fireplace. Peter just blinked still holding on to the letter, taking in all that had happened. Mother proud of him, Hogwarts, wizard, him, accepted… Peter grinned and gave a whoop of excitement.

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Remus Lupin sat in the back of his father's car listening to his parents talk over the radio. The drive was terrible. He didn't want to move out of London, but since his father got a new job that stationed him in Manchester, he had no choice.

"Why couldn't we just use Floo Powder?" Remus asked, interrupting his parents' conversation.

"Well, one, your father neglected to tell you that we're moving into the muggle part of Manchester, and two, I couldn't get the Ministry to hook up the fireplace of our new home," replied Remus's mother.

"Great," Remus replied.

"Come on Remus, cheer up," his father said. "Chase is taking this much better than you are."

"Chase had no friends around where we lived," said Remus. "All his friends were from that camp he goes to every summer. They always communicate via muggle post."

"It's not like you'll never see Sirius or Gwynn again," said Mr. Lupin. "You'll all be going to that school… what's its name? Pigwarts?"

"Hogwarts, dear," Mrs. Lupin corrected.

"Yeah, there," replied Mr. Lupin.

"I don't even know if they got in, their letters hadn't come when I got mine," Remus said. "Anyway, Mrs. Black had been trying to get Sirius and Gwynn into Durmstrang. I'm just hoping she failed."

"Durmstrang is so far! Why would Lydia be trying to send them there?" Mrs. Lupin asked.

"Because she can," replied Remus. The rest of the car ride was oddly silent, except for the radio playing some song. Remus watched the scenery fly by out his window. It wasn't too long after they entered Manchester, that they were nearly hit by two joyriding teenagers.

"This is the exact reason I hate these muggle cars!" Mrs. Lupin said, very frazzled by the near accident.

"Calm down, dear," Mr. Lupin said, whether he was affected or not by the scare was indeterminable. He continued down the street and turned down another. "There it is," he said pointing to their new home.

"Yeah, sure, great," Remus said, not paying attention to where his father was pointing.

His father pulled into the driveway. Remus's parents were the first out of the car and Remus followed somewhat reluctantly, taking a good look at the house and the surrounding neighborhood.

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Lily Evans dug through her drawers and her closet looking for her new shirt that she bought the day before.

"Where is it?" Lily shouted at the clothes in her closet. Suddenly it struck her. "PETUNIA!" Lily ran downstairs and found Petunia sitting at the dining room table, wearing her new shirt.

"Petunia! You stole my shirt!" Lily said.

"Did not!" Petunia said.

"MUM!" Lily yelled.

Mrs. Evans walked into the dining room from the kitchen. "What is it Lily?"

"Petunia stole my brand new shirt!" Lily said.

"Petunia give your sister her shirt back." Mrs. Evans instructed.

"She said I could borrow it." Petunia lied.

"I did not!" Lily said stomping her foot.

" You did too," Petunia said.

"Did NOT!"

" Did too."

"What dream world are you living in? I never let you borrow my clothes! They look horrible on you!"

"Stop it both of you! Lily, just let Petunia borrow the shirt for today, and Petunia from now on, ask to borrow any of Lily's things." Mrs. Evans said.

"ERGH!" Lily growled before storming upstairs. She slammed the door to her room and threw off her pajamas and put on her favourite pair of faded blue jeans and an emerald green tank top. She walked over to her bed to lie down but stopped when she saw an envelope that appeared to be made of some type of heavy paper addressed to her on her bed. She picked it up and flipped it over. On the back was a purple wax seal with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a serpent. Lily tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents. She read over the letter. She had to read it again and a third time to make sure she was reading it correctly. She was accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a witch.

"Mum! Mum! MUM!" Lily shouted running down the stairs clutching the acceptance letter in her hand.

"Lily, what is it?" her mother asked. "What did Petunia do this time?"

"It wasn't Petty! Look!" Lily shoved the letter into her mother's hands. Her mother read over the letter and her eyes widened. "Oh… My…" was all her mother could say.

"Lily, are you sure this isn't some kind of prank?" Mrs. Evans inquired when she had found her voice.

"Mum, I'm positive this is real!" Lily said hardly able to contain her excitement.

"Lily, dear… You do know there is no such thing as witches?"

"But Mum! It explains all those strange things that happen when I get mad at Petty!"

"Lily, listen to me…"

"Mum, no! I'm a witch! They **are** real! Why won't you believe me?"

"Lily, it's just not pos-"

"Yes it is! I bet if this happened to **Petunia,** you'd be overwhelmed! Because it's always Petunia this, Petunia that, and 'Lily, why can't you be more like Petunia?' Because Petunia is **so **perfect! Well, Mother, I can't be like Petunia! I'm me, and I'm a witch! I'm a witch!" Lily balled her hands into fists trying to keep herself from screaming. Suddenly a vase on a table exploded sending shards of glass flying. One piece flew and grazed Lily's cheek leaving a large shallow cut.

"Lily!" Mrs. Evans shouted.

Lily reached up and touched the cut on her cheek. "I'm sorry…" Lily said softly. "I-I didn't mean to…" Lily slowly stepped away from her mother. She turned and ran up to her room.

Lily shut the door to her room and locked it. She grabbed a handkerchief off her dresser and held it to her cut. She sighed and walked over to her window seat. She sat down and stretched her legs out. Lily stared out at the calm street below. The boy next door was practicing for a football game; Mrs. Anderson, the elderly woman across the street, was sitting on her porch with her cocker spaniel; and Petunia's boyfriend, Vernon, had just pulled into the driveway.

"Please don't let them stay…" Lily said. "I can't stand Vernon!"

A few minutes later, Vernon and Petunia left. Lily smiled with relief. Just as Vernon's Chevy turned the corner, a moving truck turned on to the street.

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The new neighbors. Lily thought.

The moving truck parked in front of the house next door and a car pulled into the driveway. Lily watched as the family climbed out of the car. She saw a boy who looked about her age. Lily got up from the window seat and went to the bathroom to check on her cut.

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A/n: Well there you go. A nearly all new chapter 1. I'm changing a few things like James not knowing the other Marauders till a little later.

D/c: I only own Gwynn, Liam, Loni, and anything else not recognizable from the HP books. Lauren belongs to a friend of mine and I'm grateful she's letting me use her and is so lenient with how I portray Lauren.

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	2. Chapter 2

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Sweet Misery

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After Lily washed the dried blood from her cheek and made sure she wasn't bleeding any more, she walked downstairs. She found her mother searching the cabinets in the kitchen.

"What are you looking for?" Lily asked.

"Another vase for the flowers," said her mother, not stopping her search.

"I'm really, really sorry Mom," Lily said. "I didn't know that would happen. Honestly."

"It's okay Lily."

"I thought you might like to know the new neighbors are here."

"Really? Well, let's go welcome them."

Lily followed her mother next door. The new family, excluding their son, was standing on the front lawn directing the movers. Lily stood at her mother's side as Mrs. Evans welcomed the neighbors. Lily quickly lost interest in what they were talking about and went to go sit in the shade of a tree in the yard. While she was watching the movers unload the truck, a young boy with sandy blonde hair and amber eyes jumped down from the tree. Lily gave a yelp of surprise.

"Sorry," the boy said, "didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," Lily said quickly. "You just mildly surprised me." 

"Yeah…" the boy said rolling his eyes. "I'm Remus Lupin"

"Lily Evans."

"You live next door right?"

"Yeah. Where'd you move from?"

"London."

"So not too far then."

"Oh just far enough to have contact only via post with my friends back in London."

"That must be horrible."

"Oh yeah."

There was a short silence before Remus asked, "So, um, what school you going to?"

"Ho—" Lily started but caught herself and said, "Some boarding school for gifted students. How 'bout you?"

"I'm going to some boarding school too."

"So… Were you excited about moving here?"

"Not really. I had to leave my two best friends just so my dad could be closer to work."

"That sucks."

"Yeah."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Lily got up.

"Well, I should get going. If you ever want to hang out or something, just drop by." Lily said.

"Okay," replied Remus.

"Bye."

"Bye."

Lily walked back to her house and went up to her room. She began reading the list of supplies that she'd need for school.

"Where am I going to find all this stuff?" Lily asked herself.

Lily's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her window. Lily turned, curious to what could be making that noise, and jumped when she saw Remus standing on the roof right outside her window. Lily opened the window and let Remus in. (a/n: twenty brownie points to anyone who can guess what show I got the next door neighbor climbing up to the window as their way of entrance.)

"Remus, what are you doing out there? How'd you get up here?" Lily asked as Remus climbed in.

"Well, first, I needed to ask you something, and second, there's a ladder set up against the roof." Remus answered.

"Can't you use the front door like every normal person?" Lily said.

"It's too mundane," replied Remus. "I don't like being normal."

"That's becoming quite clear. So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Would that boarding school you were talking about earlier happen to be Hogwarts?"

"Yes... How'd you know?"

"Well, you nearly said the name, and then there's the envelope on your window seat that I noticed as I was climbing in."

"So, are you a wizard?"

"Yep. I was wondering, would you like to go supplies shopping with my mum and I this Saturday?"

"Sure! I was just wondering where I'd get all this stuff."

"Great, I'll come get you about 10:00."

"Okay."

"See you later."

"Bye."

Remus climbed out the window and walked across the roof to the ladder. Lily shook her head and sat down on the window seat.

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Lily got up around nine that Saturday. She took a quick shower, got dressed, and went downstairs for some breakfast.

"Well if it isn't the witch bitch now." Petunia said as Lily walked into the kitchen.

"Shut up!" Lily snapped. She was in no mood for her older sister's comments. Petunia always found ways to ruin everyday for Lily, and Lily did not want her to put her in a bad mood today. Lily grabbed a piece of toast and went back up to her room to get her money. Lily jumped when she opened the door. Remus was standing by the window, waiting.

"I'm never going to get used to you doing that." Lily said grabbing her purse off of her dresser.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Remus climbed out the window with Lily right behind him. Once they got down the ladder they went over to the side door to Remus's house.

"I hope you're okay with the fact that we're traveling by floo powder." Remus said opening the door.

"Floo powder?" Lily asked.

"All will be explained in a minute." Remus led Lily through the house and into the living room where Remus's mother was waiting.

"Hello Mrs. Lupin." Lily said.

"Hello Lily," said Mrs. Lupin. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, but first, how do you travel by floo powder?" Lily inquired.

"All you do is take a little of this powder here," explained Mrs. Lupin holding a leather pouch, "and throw it into the fire. Then, you say where you want to go and it'll take you there via fireplace, that is if you and your destination are hooked up to the network." Lily nodded even though she still wasn't exactly sure.

"Don't forget to keep your elbows in," Remus added.

"Remus, you go first," Mrs. Lupin said.

Remus took some of the floo powder from the pouch and threw it into the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!" he said then disappeared.

"Your turn, Lily," said Mrs. Lupin.

Lily took a little floo powder and stepped up the fireplace. She threw it in and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" She was immediately swept up into the floo network. She watched the exits flash by her, feeling slightly ill as they did so. After a few seconds of travel, Lily dropped out in a pub. Remus helped her up.

"What a ride!" Lily said, dusting the soot off of herself.

"I take it you liked that," said Remus.

"Yeah!" Lily said. "That was so cool!"

Remus's mother appeared shortly after and the three of them went off to Gringotts. Remus's mother went down to the vault to pick up money for Remus, while Remus and Lily exchanged her muggle money for wizarding money.

When all this was finished with, Lily and Remus ditched Mrs. Lupin and ran off. Their first stop was Flourish and Blotts to pick up their books.

"Do you know anything about Hogwarts?" Lily asked grabbing a transfiguration book off the shelf.

"I know it's a school for witches and wizards," said Remus. Lily hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Seriously," Lily said.

"Not too much," replied Remus. "My mum hasn't told me too much of anything."

Lily and Remus took their stacks of books up to the cashier and paid for them all. As they walked out of the store, they heard someone shout, "Remie! Oh Remie boy!"

Remus looked back and saw....

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A/n: Not much change here, but then again, look what you got in chapter 1! I'll get started on chapter three now… ^_^

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	3. Chapter 3

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Sweet Misery

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"This should be enough for your school supplies and _only_your school supplies," Orion Black said handing his children some money. "I don't want you buying any pranks." He looked directly at Sirius when he said this.

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Sirius said. "Gwynn, on the other hand, would."

"Oh shut up Siri!" Gwynn said, hitting him.

"Liam, keep an eye on those two," Mr. Black said.

"Yes dad," replied Liam. Liam grabbed some floo powder and said, "Diagon Alley!" Sirius followed Liam out. Mr. Black stopped Gwynn just before she was about to go.

"Keep a close eye on Sirius," he said. "Your mother is sick of him torturing your younger brother and cousins."

"I will dad," said Gwynn before leaving.

When she arrived in the Leaky Cauldron, Sirius and Liam had already left. She sighed and started to get up from the fireplace when another wizard came out, knocking her down and landing on top of her.

"Get off!" she said in a strained voice due to having the wind knocked out of her and the added weight.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," the boy said jumping up. "James Potter at your service." He reached down to help her up, but she didn't take his hand. She coughed and dusted herself off. "You really shouldn't be sitting in there."

"For your information, I had just arrived when you came out," Gwynn replied. "Excuse me while I go kill my brothers for leaving me." She ran across the pub and out into Diagon Alley. James shrugged and went to Diagon Alley.

Sirius lost Liam in the confusion in the Apothecary and started towards the joke shop when he saw Remus leaving Flourish and Blotts with some red head.

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"Remie! Oh Remie boy!" Remus looked back and saw his friend Sirius running through the crowd towards him and Lily.

"Don't call me that!" Remus shouted.

"Now Remie, is that any way to greet your bestest friend in the whole world?" Sirius asked with a look of mock hurt. Sirius looked at Lily, "Who's your girl friend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," said Remus.

"She's you friend right?" Remus nodded. "And she's a girl. Therefore, she's your girl friend." Remus shook his head.

"Sirius Black," said Sirius to Lily, ignoring Remus.

"Hi, I'm Lily," said Lily, smiling sweetly.

"Ah, fair Lily! Thou art as beautiful as a rose!" Sirius said with a flourish of his hand, then a bow to complete the scene. Lily giggled.

"Don't encourage him," Remus said.

"You're such a stick in the mud, Remus," said Sirius.

"I am not!"

"Of course your not, you're just trying to act mature in front of your girlfriend."

"Sirius, you are really pushing you luck here." 

"Boys, boys!" Lily said loudly. Sirius and Remus looked at her. "If you'd kindly stop acting like five year olds, we can continue getting our school supplies."

"Fine," Sirius and Remus said.

"So, Lily dear, how do you know Shorty?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not short! I'm just as tall as you." Remus said. Remus was about five centimeters shorter than Sirius, and Sirius liked to rub in that he was taller, even if it was by a millimeter.

"I'm his neighbor," replied Lily.

"Sirius! Sirius, you git! I'm going to tell Mum!" a girl shouted from some where in the crowd.

"She'll love a reason to be mad at me!" Sirius shouted back. "She'll find a way to include you too!"

"I'll tell her who pulled that prank on Narcissa!"

"Hey, let's go get our wands," Sirius said, starting to pull Lily and Remus through the crowd towards Olivander's.

"Who was that?" Lily asked.

"Sirius's older sister, Gwynn," answered Remus.

"She's my twin, and I'm the older one," snapped Sirius.

"You're really touchy, Sirius," said Lily.

"Of course he is," a girl said, grabbing Sirius's shoulder.

"Gwynn, get lost," Sirius said.

Gwynn ignored him. "Hello Remus, and, oh! Hello! I'm Gwynn Black, and you are?"

"Lily Evans," replied Lily.

"Hi Lily. What do you say we ditch the guys and we go shopping?"

"Gwynn..." Sirius growled.

"Sure," replied Lily. "I'll catch up with you later Remus!" Lily and Gwynn ran off.

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They ran into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Guess we should have gone to the Apothecary," said Gwynn looking at the large line.

"Let's just wait," Lily said, sitting down on the bench, "since we're here now."

Lily and Gwynn were waiting about fifteen minutes before they were able to get fitted for their robes. After they bought their robes, they walked down to Olivander's.

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Lily pushed open the door and she and Gwynn walked in. The owner was no where to be seen.

"Hello?" Gwynn asked.

"It's a little creepy in here..." Lily said looking around.

"Just a little," Gwynn agreed.

"Good morning," someone said.

Lily and Gwynn jumped and saw a man standing behind the counter.

"Hello," said Lily and Gwynn having a little trouble finding their voices.

"Gwyneth Black," said Mr. Olivander. "I was wondering when I'd see another Black." Mr. Olivander turned towards Lily. "And you are?" Mr. Olivander asked.

"Lily Evans."

"Wand hands?"

"Left," Gwynn said.

"Right," said Lily.

Mr. Olivander started towards the shelves of wands that stood behind his desk, when the door opened.

"Hey Mr. O!" the boy who had just entered said rather loudly. "I was curious to how much it would cost to get about ten or more wands."

"I'll be right—" Mr. Olivander started, but was cut off by the boy who Gwynn recognized as James from the Leaky Cauldron.

"You see, I'm a rather tragic case when it comes to magic." He leaned against the desk. "When ever I attempt magic, things tend to explode. I just want to take every precaution. Wands are this way right?" He pointed towards the shelves and jumped behind the counter.

"No! Stay on that side of the counter!" Mr. Olivander said heading towards James to stop him, but Mr. Olivander was too slow.

"Hmm… I wonder if this is a good wand," James said. He gave it a quick flick and Mr. Olivander flew back a few feet. "No, nope, that's not it." He dropped the wand and the box.

"Excuse you but could you save your idiotic antics for later?" Gwynn asked stepping up to the counter.

"Girl from the fireplace!" he said. "Nice to see you again! Thank you for asking nicely, but I simply must find my wand now."

"Do you know him?" Lily asked watching as he kept trying wands picked randomly from the shelves. Most caused complete destruction to the store. Mr. Olivander kept trying to stop him, but was always either drenched with accidental water eruptions or being buried under boxes of wands.

"No, he just happened to land on me when exiting the Floo Network," replied Gwynn. "You know I've had enough of this, I'm going to stop him." Gwynn jumped over the counter and dodged a flying vase.

"Gwynn don't!" Lily said, but Gwynn didn't listen. She grabbed a wand and flicked it towards James. He jumped out of the way as a bunch of wands fell from the shelf from behind him.

"Nice shot!" he said. "Not quick enough though! Do you expect to get on the quidditch team with reflexes like that?"

"Come here you!" Gwynn shouted tossing the wand a side and grabbing another one. She waved the wand and a loud explosion rang from behind James, nearly burying him in wands.

"No! Stop it you two!" Mr. Olivander said. Lily just stood and watched in amusement as Mr. Olivander got in the way of their spells, trying to find his own wand that was lost in the mess of wands. The door opened and Remus and Sirius ran in.

"What's going on? Why aren't we apart of it?" Sirius said.

"Gwynn and some guy are destroying the store," Lily replied.

"Come on! I know you're faster than that!" James shouted in the direction he thought she was in.

"Big mistake," Sirius said.

"And I know you're that dumb!" Gwynn said from behind him and flicked a wand at him. James's right sleeve burst into bright blue flames.

"GAH!" He shouted waving his arm around. "Put it out!"

Mr. Olivander found after going through a pile of wands and cast a spell that put out the fire.

"You two! Other side of the counter now!" He shouted. Gwynn and James dropped the wands they were holding and walked over to where Remus, Sirius, and Lily were standing. Mr. Olivander then cast a spell that fixed up his shop. "If either of you try that again, I'll be forced to throw you out and you will go to school without wands!"

"Sorry sir," Gwynn said.

"Now, casting magic without a wand, is that hard?" James asked.

"Don't push your luck," Mr. Olivander snapped at him. "Miss Black, I'll take care of you first and then you, so I can get you two out of here before you and him can cause more damage." Gwynn was about to say something in retaliation, but thought better of it. "Try this one." Mr. Olivander handed her a wand. Gwynn gave it a quick wave, but Mr. Olivander snatched it away almost immediately. He handed her another what which she took and flicked her wrist quickly. A shower of red and black sparks shot out of the end. "Willow, seven inches, with a veela hair for the core, a good charms wand. You," Mr. Olivander pointed to James. "Try this one." Mr. Olivander handed him a wand and gave it a quick wave. Mr. Olivander quickly snatched it away and handed him another one. "Mahogany, eleven inches, pliable, a little more powerful than other wands and excellent for transfiguration. Miss Black, six galleons and ten sickles, and you, Mr. Potter, eight galleons." The two handed Mr. Olivander the money. "Please exit the store at once."

"I'll wait for you all outside," Gwynn said, following James outside. Once outside, Gwynn leaned against the shop window. James began to talk to her.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

"About time," said Gwynn when the others exited.

"So did you and Mr. Potter become friends?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"Actually yes, James is sort of nice after you look past his stupidity," replied Gwynn.

"And that's why he's gone," said Sirius.

"No, he went to go get us some butterbeers." James came back a few moments later with two bottles of butterbeer.

"Oh you're all done," James said. "Took you all long enough."

"So how'd you get roped into Gwynn's antics?" Remus asked.

"It's the other way around," Lily said.

"You're a prankster?" Sirius asked James.

"The best there is," replied James, taking a swig of his butterbeer.

"You must be mistaken, Jamie, I'm the best there is."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

James and Sirius jumped into a contest of who had pulled the better pranks. Lily, Gwynn, and Remus watched for a little while before becoming bored.

"You wanna head down to the Apothecary?" Gwynn asked.

"Yeah," replied Remus and Lily.

"They probably won't notice we're missing," said Lily.

Gwynn, Remus, and Lily left Sirius and James, and began walking to the Apothecary. Moments later, Sirius and James caught up to them declaring a draw.

"Darn, we thought we lost you," said Lily.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

After the five of them finished their shopping, Lily and Remus said goodbye to James, Sirius, and Gwynn. Remus and Lily went off to find Mrs. Lupin at the Leaky Cauldron.

****

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__

A/n: The revised edition of chapter 3! I rather enjoyed the part in Olivander's didn't you? It amused me greatly.

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	4. Chapter 4

****

Sweet Misery

  
**+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**  
  
  
A few weeks later, Lily's father accompanied Lily to Kings Cross Station to see her off. She and her father stood between platform 9 and platform 10.  
  
"What platform is it again, Lily?" her father asked.  
  
"Nine and three-quarters," replied Lily, reading it straight off her ticket.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, Daddy, look."  
  
Lily handed her ticket to her father, then looked at the platform signs. Nine, then ten. She saw no sign of her platform.  
  
"LIL! Hey Lil!" she heard someone shout from behind her. Lily turned and saw Gwynn running towards her.  
  
"Gwynn, hi!" Lily said waving.  
  
"Having trouble?" Gwynn asked, stopping her trolley next to Lily's.  
  
"Yes," replied Lily. "Where's the platform?"  
  
"Well, it's just right through that barrier right there." Lily looked at the barrier then back at Gwynn as if she was insane.  
  
"Trust me!" Gwynn said.  
  
"Okay," replied Lily, still a little skeptical. She turned to her father and said, "Well, Dad, I guess I'll see you at the end of the year."  
  
"Bye Lily," he replied.  
  
Gwynn and Lily began walking towards the barrier. Gwynn broke into a run, and Lily followed in suit behind her. As a reflex, Lily shut her eyes as she was about to hit the barrier, bracing herself for certain impact, but the crash never came. She opened her eyes and saw the platform and the scarlet steam engine.  
  
"Wow..." Lily said in amazement.  
  
"I know," replied Gwynn, grinning at Lily's stunned look. "C'mon, let's grab a compartment before we have to share with my brother."

"Which one?" Lily asked.

"Either." Gwynn led Lily on to the train and into a compartment close to the front of the train.  
  
"This is going to be so awesome," stated Lily.  
  
"Yeah, I can't wait," agreed Gwynn.  
  
"I bet the classes are going to be great."  
  
"My older brother, Liam, says that the classes are pretty cool except for History of Magic. The teacher drones on and on."  
  
"Ick."  
  
"Yeah, but at least we get to take flying classes."  
  
"Cool! So, how old is Liam?"  
  
"17. This is his last year at Hogwarts. He's Head Boy. Mum's really proud of him, well as proud as she gets for Liam, Sirius, and I. That type of proud is like, 'good job, now leave me in peace."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Do you have any siblings?"  
  
"Yes. One and she's horrible!"  
  
"How bad?"  
  
"She's practically my parents' favorite and she thinks she's so cool because she's fifteen and has a boyfriend."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
The door slid open at that moment, the door slid open to reveal a rather tall girl with long amber brown hair and opal eyes.  
  
"Can I join you two?" she asked. "Everywhere else is full."  
  
"Sure," Lily said.  
  
The girl took a seat across from Lily and Gwynn.  
  
"I'm Lily and this is Gwynn," Lily said.  
  
"I'm Lauren," she replied.  
  
"Nice to meet you," said Gwynn.  
  
"Are you two first years too?" Lauren asked.  
  
"Yep," chorused Lily and Gwynn.  
  
"I can't wait to get to the school," said Lauren almost bouncing in her seat.  
  
"We were just talking about that," stated Lily. "Gwynn has a brother who's in 7th year."  
  
"He's Head Boy," Gwynn said.  
  
"I have no siblings to speak of," Lauren said. "I kinda wish I did."  
  
"The older kind are the worst," commented Lily.  
  
"And twin brothers," added Gwynn.  
  
"You have a twin brother?" Lauren asked.  
  
"Yep, Sirius," replied Gwynn.  
  
"I know you're serious," Lauren said.  
  
"No, his name's Sirius!"  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Does that happen a lot?" Lily asked Gwynn.  
  
"Most of the time," answered Gwynn.  
  
"You guys like quidditch?" Lauren inquired.  
  
"Yeah, I'm hoping to get on my house's quidditch team," replied Gwynn.  
  
"Me too," Lauren agreed.

"Too bad first years aren't allowed."

"I know, it so sucks!"

  
"Um, what's quidditch?" Lily questioned not sure at all what they were talking about.  
  
"Oh it's the greatest sport ever!" Gwynn said.  
  
"Yeah! After seeing just one game you'll see how amazing it is!" Lauren exclaimed.  
  
Gwynn and Lauren jumped into a huge explanation of Quidditch; it's rules, the players, the balls, and the many different types of fouls. Lily found the game rather interesting and listened intensely as Lauren was talking about the History of Quidditch. Gwynn then took over and talked about all these different moves. When the two finished explaining, they were nearly at Hogwarts. The three girls quickly changed into their uniforms. Upon pulling into the station, Gwynn, Lily, and Lauren hopped off the train.  
  
"First years! First year over 'ere!" a man, who could only be described as gigantic compared to the first years, shouted over the voices of the students piling off the train.  
  
"Come on," Lily said leading Lauren and Gwynn over to the tall man. Once reaching him, they ran into James, Sirius, and Remus.  
  
"Hey Remus, Sirius, James" said Lily and Gwynn, though Gwynn left out Sirius in the greeting.  
  
"Hey Lily," replied Remus.  
  
"Hey," said Sirius. James just gave a quick wave before going back to aiming a dung bomb at some first years near the back of the group. As James threw the dung bomb, Sirius purposely bumped into James, throwing off his aim. The dung bomb flew completely off target and hit a seventh year girl who shrieked when it exploded. She was screaming for her friends to get the dung off her. Sirius and James held back laughter as on of the girl's friends, who turned out to be Head Girl, looked around to try and spot the culprit. After the girl was cleaned off and calmed down, they headed off for the carriages that took the older students to the castle.

"Gimme some of those," Sirius said as James pulled out a bag of dung bombs from his robe pocket.  
  
"Oh, Lauren, this is Remus, Sirius, and James" Gwynn said, pointing to each of the boys. "Sirius, James, Remus, this is Lauren."  
  
"Hi," Lauren said.

"Hey," replied Remus. James and Sirius didn't seem to notice that Gwynn or Lauren had said anything, as they were too busy throwing dung bombs at the older students.  
  
The near giant man lead the large group of first years down to a fleet of boats after all the first years had arrived.  
  
"No more than four to a boat!" he told them getting into his own boat.  
  
The three girls climbed into a boat where another girl, who was carrying a book and began reading immediately when she sat down in the boat, joined them. Sirius, James, and Remus got into a boat with another boy. As soon as the boats set off, Sirius and his friends were forcing their boat closer to the girls.  
  
"Sirius, what are you doing?" Gwynn shouted at him.  
  
"Nothing!" he shouted back.  
  
"This can't be good..." Gwynn said watching as the guys' boat came up right next to theirs.  
  
"What do you think they're going to do?" Lily said softly to Gwynn and Lauren.  
  
Lily's question was answered as James stood up and put one foot into the girls' boat and kept the other in his boat.  
  
"We don't like our seat arrangements, care to trade?" James asked.  
  
"What?" Lauren asked.  
  
"Let's see... let's move you, Lily, " he pointed to Lily, "over to our boat and he will move over here." James grabbed Lily's hands and lifted her up.  
  
"Hey!" Lily said.  
  
"Aw come on!" He said. The boy had already moved on to her boat. Lily sighed and started to step into the guys' boat when suddenly, the boats separated sending Lily and James into the lake.  
  
"Lily!" Gwynn and Lauren shouted as Remus and Sirius laughed their heads off. Lily and James emerged, coughing, from the water a few meters back.  
  
"Hurry up or else you'll have to swim to the castle!" Sirius shouted at them.  
  
Lily and James began swimming as fast as they could towards Sirius's boat. Sirius and Remus helped Lily into the boat and James climbed in on his own.  
  
"That," said James wringing out his robes, "was not supposed to happen."  
  
"I bet," replied Lily flipping back her hair.  
  
"Well, James," said Sirius, "you've seemed to have found a new way to meet girls."  
  
"Yeah, pull her into the lake and nearly drown her," Remus said. "The only way to get a girl."  
  
"Shut up," James snapped.  
  
"Yeah, Remus, Lily probably wants to murder him," Sirius said.  
  
"Nope," said Lily surprising them all. She looked at their stunned faces. "Well, it was an accident. If it wasn't, then why would James have been standing in both boats?"  
  
"Smart one she is," said James.  
  
The group sat quietly till the boat pulled up to the castle. Lily ran to meet up with Gwynn and Lauren.  
  
"This is going to be an interesting year," Gwynn said.

"Of course," replied Lily.

"Since there's James, Sirius, Remus, and me here," said Lauren.

"You?" Gwynn and Lily asked.

"Oh yes, though this place will be too easy, being an experienced prankster," replied Lauren.

"And how experienced are you?" said Lily.

"Let's just say, I haven't been allowed in half the shops in Diagon Alley since I was five," said Lauren.

"Well I think James and Sirius will be upset," said Gwynn. "Sirius is only banned from Flourish and Blotts, and James didn't even get kicked out of Olivander's after what we did."  
  
"And what was that?" Lauren asked.

"Oh just jumping the counter and attacking each other with the wands," replied Lily.

"Just that?" said Lauren.

"Eh, Mr. O was pretty upset," said Gwynn.

****

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_A/n: well there you have it! The revised chapter 4. I'm not bothering with Gwynn's wand containing a veela hair for the core because I made it work for the plot later in the story =^_^=. Enjoy!_

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	5. Chapter 5

****

Sweet Misery  
  


****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+  
  
  
Lily, Gwynn, and Lauren all ended up in Gryffindor along with Sirius, James, and Remus. They were starting classes today and the Gryffindors' first class that day was Potions with the Slytherins. Lily and her small group of friends got a late start that morning and were rushing to get ready and down to class on time.  
  
"C'mon!" Lauren shouted running out of their dorm followed by Lily and Gwynn. Lauren led them down corridor after corridor.  
  
"Lauren, do you have any idea where you're going?" Lily asked.  
  
"Sure, it can't be **that** hard to find the dungeons," replied Lauren. Lauren began jumping down the stairs two at a time.  
  
"Ten sickles she has no idea where we're going," muttered Gwynn to Lily.  
  
"I _know_ she has no idea where we're going, so I'm not taking you up on that bet," replied Lily.  
  
"Lauren, maybe I should lead the way," Gwynn said.  
  
"No, no, no, no! I know where I'm-" said Lauren as they turned down a corridor which apparently was a dead end, "...going..."  
  
"Come on," Lily said turning the other way and pushing Gwynn to the front of the group. The girls sprinted down the corridors. They were already a minute late when they reached the Potions classroom. They rushed into the classroom and Lauren and Gwynn took a seat at one table while Lily took a seat at the table behind them with Remus. Just as Lily sat down, the professor entered the room.  
  
"Morning students," said the professor.  
  
"Good morning Professor Turco," mumbled the students.  
  
"In this class, I expect you all to pay close attention. Any mistake in this class could be fatal. One small screw up could kill you or your partner. Now, I will be assigning you all seats." The students groaned at this. Professor Turco gave them all a quick glare but for continuing on. "The person who you will be sitting next to will be your partner for the rest of the year. I expect you all to try to get along with them. First row: Black, Gwyneth and Zambini, Michael; McMillan, Trisha and Goyle, Andrew; and Lupin, Remus and Chang, Emma. Second row: Black, Narcissa and Fonseca, Lauren; Sommers, Lindsey and Finnigan, Brian; and Malfoy, Lucius and Black, Sirius. Third row: Pettigrew, Peter and Crabbe, David; Potter, James and Snape, Severus; and Evans, Lillian and Daniels, Aivlei." Professor Turco continued to list off names as every one moved around the room grumbling.  
  
After Professor Turco had assigned them all into their groups (each group consisted of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin in what seemed like an attempt to get the houses to get along), she began writing the ingredients on the board for a simple potion to get rid of boils. No sooner had the class began working, James and his partner began arguing.  
  
"No, you're not supposed to add that yet, Potter!"  
  
"Am too! It says so right on the board, Snape!"  
  
"You're reading it wrong!"  
  
"I am not! I can read the board perfectly fine!"  
  
"Then you need glasses you prat!"  
  
"Greasy slimeball git!"  
  
The boys whipped out their wands and were about to start cursing each other when Professor Turco, who had been in her office, came out to see what all the shouting was about.  
  
"Potter! Snape! Drop those wands!" she shouted. James and Severus dropped their wands but were still glaring daggers at each other. "Detention for both of you, and five points from both your houses! Now get back to work!"  
  
At the end of the class, each group completed their potions. Every group, with the exception of James and Severus, who's potion blew up for some reason during the middle of the class, created the draft correctly. Severus ended up in the Hospital Wing because he was covered in the potion, which gave him scaly skin and a nose that wouldn't stop growing, while James, who luckily dropped his quill before the potion blew up, avoided the attack but ended up losing another five points for Gryffindor because Professor Turco believed he meant for the potion to blow up.  
  
"Stupid git," grumbled James, as the class filed out of the classroom.  
  
"We'll get him," said Sirius. "And that Malfoy git too."  


  
**+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**  


  
Later that night, Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn were all sitting in a corner of the common room working on their homework.  
  
"I can't believe they gave us homework on the first day!" Lauren said setting her finished Potions essay aside.  
  
"I still can't believe Professor Turco gave us assigned seats," said Gwynn.  
  
"I hate my partner, he's so... ergh!" Lauren said.  
  
"He can't be worse than that Zambini kid," Gwynn stated then looked at her parchment in disgust. She crumpled it up and whipped it across the room at Sirius.  
  
"What does he do?" Lauren inquired.  
  
"He wouldn't shut up about how I was doing things!" Gwynn replied. "'You're not cutting those right!' 'No, no, no! Like THIS!'"  
  
"Well, my partner, Aivlei, didn't do anything," said Lily. "Just sat back in his chair and slept—snoring quite loudly by the way—the whole time and he **still** got credit for making the potion."  
  
"Well, he's ju-" Gwynn was cut off by a wade of parchment hitting her forehead. She shot a glare at Sirius, who shouted, "Read it!"  
  
Lauren picked up the parchment from the floor and opened it.  
  
"Your brother wants you to help him, James, and Remus with a prank," Lauren said handing Gwynn the parchment.  
  
"I don't want to!" Gwynn said picking up her quill to scribble back a reply.  
  
"I'll help!" Lauren said.  
  
"You know you're going to get in trouble, don't you?" Lily asked.  
  
"You're only in trouble if you get caught," said Lauren, matter-of-factly.  
  
"I'm surprised you're not one of them..." Gwynn muttered writing 'No, I won't, but Lauren would love to.' Gwynn crumpled the parchment back up and tossed it back over at the boys. But Sirius ducked at the last second, avoiding being hit. The end result was the parchment hitting James. He opened the parchment.  


  
**+*+*+*+*+**  


  
"Sirius, I can't read your sister's handwriting," he said, handing the paper to Sirius.  
  
"Get glasses," replied Sirius with a smirk.  
  
"Shut up," snapped James. "I don't need glasses."  
  
"I'd say you do," said Remus, who was looking over Sirius's shoulder. James shot a glare at Remus. "Well, you do! Gwynn's handwriting is perfectly legible."  
  
"Is not," said James looking over Sirius's shoulder.  
  
"Does this help?" Sirius asked, shoving the parchment about an inch from James' face.  
  
"Somewhat..." James mumbled, pushing the parchment back.  
  
"Told you," said Sirius, grabbing his quill and writing back to Gwynn. He flung it back, hitting Lily this time.  
  


****

+*+*+*+*+  


  
"'Which one of you is Lauren?'" Lily read. "Figures."  
  
"Sirius has a bad memory when it comes to meeting people," said Gwynn.  
  
Lily quickly wrote an answer and threw it back, hitting Remus. This was quickly becoming a game between the two groups.  


  
**+*+*+*+*+**  


  
"Lauren's the brunette," said Remus.  
  
"Oh, so that's Lauren," Sirius said.  
  
"I guess it'll be fine for her to come with us," James shrugged.  
  
James took the parchment and wrote back a reply and tossed it at Lauren's head.  


  
**+*+*+*+*+**

  
  
"Yes!" Lauren said reading the reply.  
  
"You're in?" Lily asked.  
  
"Yeah," replied Lauren.  
  
Lauren wrote something to the guys and flung it back. The parchment bounced off Remus's shoulder and hit Sirius.  


"Double hit!" Lauren shouted.  


****

+*+*+*+*+  


  
This continued for quite a while. After they had finished telling about the prank, it soon became a written argument over whether or not the girls should give the guys their homework for them to copy. The guys gave up on writing notes and just started to fling balls of parchment, which the girl fired back quicker than you could say 'Hogwarts'. Things finally quieted down when one of the prefects was hit by a ball that Sirius threw.  
  
Around ten, they all went up to their dorms for the night.  
  


****

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__

A/n: Well, there you go, chapter five! I would've had it up sooner, but I was dragged off to Oklahoma for a family reunion. Blah I know. Humidity sucks. I felt like I was going to die. Luckily I didn't.

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	6. Chapter 6

****

Sweet Misery

  
**+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+**

  
The prank went smoothly after all the planning Remus, James, Sirius, and Lauren had put into it. Not one person suspected them of anything, well except Dumbledore who always seemed to know everything that happens at Hogwarts. The four of them got detentions and served them out (some were better than others were).

****

+*+*+*+*+

  
A few months had passed, and the Christmas Holidays were coming quickly. Lily, Lauren, and Remus were all staying for Christmas. Gwynn and Sirius had to return home because they had some relatives coming in from Poland and Romania. James, on the other hand, had an eye appointment set up by his parents for after Christmas. He wasn't happy about that at all and tried to get out of going by making his good-byes at school last long so he would miss the carriages, but Gwynn and Sirius dragged him, kicking and yelling, to a carriage.  
  
"Poor James," said Lauren watching Gwynn trying to pull James by the arm into the carriage.  
  
"Yeah, but he kinda is forcing this upon himself," stated Remus.  
  
Lily sighed, "Why must he fight the inevitable?"  
  
The three of them watched as Sirius grabbed James' feet and Gwynn hooked her arms under his and the two of them lifted the struggling James into the carriage. The three waved good-bye as the carriage set off with Gwynn and Sirius pinning James down in a seat.  
  
"At least they got him in," Lauren said turning to head back inside.  
  
"I wonder what type of glasses he'll get," pondered Lily.   
  
"You assume he's going to get glasses," said Remus.  
  
"Well, yeah!" Lily agreed. "Look at the way he reads. He has whatever he's reading like two inches away from his face."  
  
"You've seen him read?" Lauren asked in mock astonishment. "Why didn't you alert the press?!"  
  
"It was just a note," replied Lily.  
  
"Well, that's nothing good at all, now is it?" Remus said. "If he was reading 'Hogwarts, A History', I'd pay you both five galleons."  
  
Lily and Lauren looked at each other than at Remus.  
  
"Can we have that in writing?" Lauren asked.  
  
"Sure, but it only counts if he reads it on his own free will," answered Remus.  
  
"That makes the whole thing pointless," Lily said.  
  
"But there's still a chance!" Lauren pointed out.  
  
When the three of them got to the common room, Lily grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, quickly scribbled something on it, and handed it to Remus.  
  
"I, Remus," he read, "owe Lily and Lauren five galleons each if James reads 'Hogwarts, A History' out of his own free will, not being forced by Lily or Lauren, or any other person." He took the quill from Lily and signed at the bottom.  
  
Lauren snatched the parchment away from him and said, "I'm going to put this somewhere safe," before she ran up to her dorm.  
  
Remus shook his head, "You two are never going to get those galleons."  
  
"Assumptions are not good things," Lily said.  
  
"Ah, but this isn't an assumption, it's a fact."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"James would never read 'Hogwarts, A History'. He hates reading anything that's remotely related to history."  
  
"He can change you know."  
  
"Yes, but I highly doubt it."  


****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

  
The winter holidays came and went, the day finally came when the students had to return to their classes.  
  
"So, Jamie, where are the glasses?" Gwynn asked when they arrived in Potions.  
  
"I apparently don't need them," replied James. "My eyes are perfectly fine."  
  
"If your eyes are fine then how come you have your astronomy and charms books when we don't need them today?" Sirius asked, who had been going through James's bag for a quill.  
  
"James, just put them on," said Remus.  
  
"They can't be that bad!" Lauren said.  
  
"But I look stupid in them!" James complained.  
  
"James, come on!" Lily said.  
  
"No way," replied James.  
  
"Everyone take your seats," Professor Turco said, entering the room just as the bell rang signaling the start of class.  
  
The small group of Gryffindors took their seats around the room. Professor Turco burst into an explanation of the bazor and it's importance to potions. She wrote notes for the students to copy. As she was writing, Lauren tossed a note to James.

  
**+*+*+*+*+**  
_(A/n: Lauren's writing is in italics, James's is in bold, and Gwynn's in bold/italics.)_  
  
_James, just put on your glasses, you'll have a much easier time in class_.  
**I don't need them!**  
_You are such a stubborn pansy._  
**I'm not a pansy!**  
_Would you prefer a fairy?_  
**No!**  
_Twit?_  
**Enough with the names. I'm not going to put on my glasses and that's final!**  
_Oh it's not final!_  
**What are you going to do about it, Fonseca?**  
_I'll tell you what I'll do, Potter. I'll learn a spell to lock those glasses on your face forever and you won't be able to take them off._  
**I'd like to see you try.**  
_I wonder if Liam knows..._  
**Like Liam would tell you! He's head boy!**  
_From what Gwynn told me, he was quite the prankster. In fact, he currently holds the detention record! So nya nya!_  


****

+*+*+*+*+

  
Gwynn looked back at Lauren and James. She caught Lauren's eye and mouthed, "Let me see." Lauren tossed the note to Gwynn after making sure the professor wasn't looking.

  
**+*+*+*+*+**

  
**_Lauren's right you know._**  
**Why are you ganging up on me?!**  
**_Think of it as slight payback for Mr. O's._**  
_Ooooo! What happened?_  
**It's a long story, don't bother.**  
_Why? So you can concentrate on class?_  
**_Take notes like a good little boy?_**  
_If he could read the notes._  
**I can read the board perfectly fine!**  
_Tell me, where does a bazor come from?_  
**... The stretch of a gral.**  
**_Wasn't listening either! It's a GOAT not a GRAL._**  
_What is a gral anyway?_  
**I don't know.**  
_You came up with it, you should know._  
**Hey, I misread the board!**  
**_Do grals have stretches?_**  
_Only the British ones._  
**What?**  
**_What about French grals?_**  
_They have compressions._  
**Are you some sort of gral expert?**  
_Yes, I got my major in gral knowledge at the Gral University in Gralton, New Graland._  
**That explains everything.**  
**_What else can you major in at GU?_**  
_Gral anatomy, gral theory, gral economics, gral construction, and gral arithmetic._  
**Gral arithmetic?**  
_Yes, gral arithmetic._  
**_You know, one gral + two grals = 32 grals._**  
**No more grals please!**

  
**+*+*+*+*+**

  
"Mr. Potter, hand me that note," Professor Turco said suddenly.  
  
James looked up and saw Professor Turco standing right in front of him holding out her hand. He handed her the note and she read over it quickly.  
  
"Grals, Mr. Potter?" Professor Turco asked with a look that seemed to be questioning his intelligence. "You, Miss Black, and Miss Fonseca shall see me after class." Professor Turco walked back up to the front of the classroom and set the note on her desk.  
  
At the end of class, Gwynn, Lauren, and James walked up to Professor Turco's desk and waited for the rest of the class to file out.  
  
"I will not tolerate note writing in my class," she said glaring at them over the rim of her glasses. "I expect you all to write me a four foot essay on why one should care more about a bazor than a gral. Have it done by next class."  
  
The three of them nodded their heads and started to walk out when Professor Turco added, "Ten points will be taken away from Gryffindor." They left muttering about how much they hated her. Lily, Sirius, and Remus were all waiting outside for them.  
  
"So?" Lily asked.  
  
"We have to write a four foot essay on why one should care more about a bazor than a gral," replied Gwynn.  
  
"And we also lost ten points," added James.  
  
"What is a gral?" Sirius inquired.  
  
"Jamie made it up," replied Gwynn.  
  
"Did not," snapped James.  
  
"Where's a bazor found?" Lauren asked. "You said, 'the stretch of a gral'."  
  
"Grals have stretches?" Remus said.  
  
"Only the British ones," Gwynn, Lauren, and James said at once.  
  
"This is getting too silly," said Lily shaking her head and starting off towards Charms.  
  
In Charms, the group of six took their seats in the back of the class. Sirius grabbed James's bag when he wasn't paying attention and began digging through it. During the middle of class when Professor Flitwick was showing them how to perform a charm, Sirius shouted, "Ah HA!" holding up a small black case in the air. The whole class turned and looked at him.  
  
"It's ok," said Sirius, "go back to your lessons!" The professor gave him a quick glare before returning to teaching. James noticed what Sirius was holding in his hands and snatched at it. Sirius tossed it over James's head to Lily who caught it. Lily was about to open it when James grabbed at the case but lost his balance on his chair and fell to the ground taking Lily with him. The two created so much noise, the class looked back at them once again.  
  
"What is going on over there?" Professor Flitwick asked angrily.  
  
"A dance party, sir," Sirius said with a straight face.  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"A. Dance. Party. Sir." Lauren repeated slowly.  
  
"Yeah, you see, we were having a great time, and James and Lily decide to start dancing on their chairs," Sirius explained.  
  
"Shut up, Sirius!" Lily snapped.  
  
"Oh, that hurt," said Sirius holding a hand over his heart.  
  
"Detention, the four of you," Professor Flitwick said.  
  
The rest of the lesson went smoothly. James, though, had forgotten that Lily still had his case.  


****

+*+*+*+*+

  
After class, Lily walked behind James and opened the case. She pulled out a pair of glasses. Gwynn also saw this. Lily nodded to Gwynn and Gwynn whispered something to Lauren. The guys were oblivious to what the girls were up to. Gwynn silently counted down. Three... Two... One! Lauren and Gwynn grabbed James's arms and held him as still as possible while Lily stuck the glasses on him. When Gwynn and Lauren let go, James quickly pulled the glasses off.  
  
"No, keep them on!" Gwynn whined.  
  
"Yea, they weren't bad at all!" Lauren said.  
  
"They look good on you!" Lily agreed.  
  
"Really?" James asked, just as he was about to put them away.  
  
"Yes!" the girls chorused.  
  
"Take it from us, James," said Lauren. "We know what looks good."  
  
James put his glasses back on.  
  
"You know, I might just want to go out with you," Gwynn said.  
  
"You look very sophisticated," said Lily.  
  
Remus and Sirius rolled their eyes as the girls continued to praise James. Lauren happened to see them.  
  
"You're just jealous that dear little Jamsie is getting more attention than you two," she said, placing her hands on James's shoulders.  
  
"No, it's just the cheesy comments," explained Sirius.  
  
"James, you look so sophisticated!" Remus said in a high voice.  
  
"Oh, James you look so cute!" Sirius said mimicking Remus's tone.  
  
"James let me go you with you!" Sirius and Remus chorused.  
  
"You guys better get used to those comments," said James, straightening his glasses. "You'll be hearing them a lot more often!" The girls took this chance to annoy Remus and Sirius more.

"James, let me walk with you to class!" Lauren shouted, clinging to James's left arm.

"Oh James you're so cute!" Lily squealed grabbing his other arm.

"Go out with me James!" Gwynn pleaded throwing her arms around his neck.

"Cut that out," Sirius said.

"It's sickening," added Remus.

Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn all giggled insanely as James put his arms around them and they walked off down the corridor, receiving odd looks from the other students.  


****

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__

A/n: Yay! Another chapter done! Moving on.

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	7. Chapter 7

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Sweet Misery

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

By the time Easter Holidays came, James, Sirius, and Remus all had met the detention record. During the holidays, when they were supposed to be studying for their exams, they were planning a huge prank for during their History of Magic exam. No one knew exactly what they were going to do, not even the girls, who were always aware of all their pranks.

"What do you think they're planning?" Lily asked, taking a break from studying.

"What ever it is, it's definitely not good," replied Gwynn.

"I can't believe they wouldn't let me help," complained Lauren

"Yeah, they normally do let you in on their plans," commented Lily. "This must be something really secretive."

"Yeah," agreed Lauren. "But even then they let me at least **know** what's going to happen."

"Quit whining," Gwynn said.

"Quit bossing me around," said Lauren.

"Then don't whine."

"Don't pretend you're not the least bit interested in what's going on over there."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not."

"You just don't want to admit you're dying to know."

"Well I'm not."

"You are dying to know what they're planning and if it's against y-"

"I've got an idea," interrupted Lily.

"What's that?" asked Gwynn and Lauren.

"Let's change the subject or go back to studying," suggested Lily.

"Wow," said Gwynn. "That's the most brilliant thing ever suggested. You should get an award for that idea."

"What," Lily said, "the award for stating and idea that is completely obvious?"

"Yes, we can call it…" Lauren paused for dramatic effect. "_The Lily Award_."

"We'll award it the person who comes up with the most obvious idea in the world," explained Gwynn.

"There'll be a huge ceremony!"

"With a banquet!"

"We'll get famous people to give out the award!"

"The winner will have their names in the papers!"

"And then," said Lily, "we can drop the subject and get back to studying."

"Sounds good to me," said Lauren.

"Yeah," agreed Gwynn.

The girls went back to reading through their notes that they had taken during their lessons, forgetting about James, Sirius, and Remus and what ever they were planning.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The day of their History of Magic exams, James, Sirius, and Remus skipped breakfast to set up their prank.

"Why couldn't we at least grab something to eat?" Sirius whined as they broke into the History of Magic room.

"Sirius, we don't have the time," said Remus. "In twenty minutes, a class will be coming and this is the most elaborate prank we've pulled yet."

"Look, I'll run back to the Great Hall and grab us some food," suggested James.

"Better you than him," said Remus glancing at Sirius. "He'd probably never come back."

"Hey!" exclaimed Sirius.

"I'll be back in five minutes," James said before running off.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

As James was walking back with some toast wrapped in a napkin, he spotted a small boy with dirty blonde hair being tormented by two Slytherins who James recognized as Snape and Malfoy.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" James yelled running over to them.

"Or you'll what, Potter?" Malfoy snapped.

"I'll break your face," growled James.

"You wouldn't dare," said Snape.

"Continue picking on him and let's see what happens," James said glaring at them.

Snape and Malfoy sized up their chances they had against James, figuring they had a good chance of killing him, but then the thought of Sirius and Remus standing around the corner or behind a suit of armor popped into their minds.

"Next time you won't be so lucky, Pettigrew," Malfoy said with a look on his face that could scare even James if he hadn't knew that they weren't up to fighting. As soon as Snape and Malfoy disappeared down a corner, James turned back to the boy named Pettigrew.

"You alright?" James asked.

"Y-yeah," he said.

"Don't I know you?" James said, searching his brain for the boy's name.

"P-Peter P-Pettigr-grew," he said. "I wa-was in th-the b-boat wi-with y-you and y-your friends."

"Oh yeah," said James. "You're the guy who switched places with Lily." The boy nodded.

"Why don't you come and hang out with me and my friends," suggested James. "We'll help protect you from Malfoy and Snape." **'And hopefully get rid of that ridiculous stutter, too'** James thought.

"Th-thank y-you," Peter stuttered.

James led Peter back to the History of Magic classroom. When he got there, he found Remus and Sirius not working on the prank, but reading the exam questions.

"What are you doing?" James asked.

Remus and Sirius nearly jumped three feet in the air.

"James, you nearly scared me half to death," said Remus.

"And if you must know," said Sirius, "we're reading the exams for History of Magic."

"Great!" exclaimed James. "Let me see."

"Who's that?" Remus said noticing Peter in the doorway.

"Oh, that's Peter," explained James. "I rescued him from Malfoy's and Snape's clutches."

"James, always the hero," teased Sirius.

"Hey Peter," said Remus, holding up one of the tests, "what a jump on the History of Magic exam?"

"S-sure," said Peter walking over and joining them at the teacher's desk.

"I wish I knew a duplicating charm," Sirius said.

"Knowing our professors, they probably have some alarm system rigged on these tests," said James.

"For students like us," added Remus.

"You know, in like five seconds, Professor Binns is probably going to fly through that wall behind us and catch us reading these tests," Sirius joked. They all looked at each other and looked back at the wall behind them. They turned back around and laughed at their stupidity. Though, if they had only watched the wall for a second longer, they probably would've had a chance to hide as Professor Binns glided through the wall talking to Sir Nick. It was a whole twenty seconds before he noticed the four boys crowded around his desk.

"What do you boys think you are doing?" Professor Binns bellowed. The boys froze and slowly turned around.

"Crud…" they said simultaneously.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

"Welcome to class," said Professor Binns when all his students were seated. "As you know, today are your final exams. I was going to give you all the easy test, but four students took it upon themselves to break into my room and read the exams." He glared at James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "Now, you will all have to complete a four-and-a-half foot essay by the end of the class." The class groaned and some were muttering what they would like to do to those four students. "Oh, don't thank me, thank Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew." The whole class turned to them and shot them death glares. "Now, take out some parchment and use the quills on your desks." Professor Binns wrote the essay's topic on the board and watched the students writing their essays.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

A few weeks later, school was finally out and all the students were boarding the Hogwarts Express. Lily, Lauren, Gwynn, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all crammed into a compartment in the middle of the train.

"So," Lily said, "did you guys beat the record?"

"Yep," Remus said.

"Those final detentions from Binns pushed us close to doubling it," added James.

"Really?" asked Lauren. "How much?"

"Forty-seven," said Sirius.

"Off by three," Gwynn said. "I'm so disappointed in you guys."

"Can you believe the school year's over?" Lily asked changing the subject.

"N-no," stuttered Peter.

"It seems like it only started yesterday," said Lauren.

"Well, for you guys it may seem like yesterday, but it feels like forever for me," said Sirius.

"Me too," agreed James.

"Same here," Remus said.

"That's because you guys were in detention for like the whole year," said Gwynn.

A few hours later, the train arrived in Kings Cross Station where the groups went their separate ways. Sirius and Gwynn waited by the train for Liam, Peter found his parents immediately and left, James was going to catch a ride home with the Blacks and Remus and Lily left the platform to meet Lily's dad.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

__

A/n: Well almost no change in this chapter except for corrected spelling errors. Now that that's done with, I'll get started on chapter 8.

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+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	8. Chapter 8

****

Sweet Misery

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Lily was digging through her trunk one day in June looking for her Transfiguration book to start her holiday homework.

"Where is it?" Lily asked emptying the trunk. She knew she hadn't taken it out. "Petunia," she muttered. Lily got up and walked down the hall to Petunia's room. She didn't bother to knock and barged right in. She found Petunia sitting on her bed flipping through her transfiguration book.

"Petunia! Give it back!" Lily demanded.

"Interesting read," said Petunia, ignoring Lily. "Know who else might like it? Spike."

Spike was the neighbors' vicious pit bull. That thing would eat any and everything. If anything landed in the pen, it was gone for good. The pen was littered with the remnants of lost toys, from frisbees to footballs.

"No!" Lily shouted lunging for her book. Petunia dodged Lily and ran out of her room. Lily scrambled off Petunia's bed and chased Petunia down the stairs and out the front door.

"Petunia," Lily yelled, "if you don't give me back my book I'll… I'll" Lily searched her mind for a threat better than, 'I'll tell Mum.'

"You'll what?"

"I'll turn you into a toad!"

Petunia skidded to a stop and turned towards her. "You wouldn't…"

"Oh I would Pettie, I would. It's easy. A few small words and POOF! You'll be eating flies for dinner. _Suoi dreg fu-_"

"Mum!" Petunia dropped Lily's book and ran inside.

"Uh oh," Lily said. She picked up her book and ran towards Remus's house. She took the ladder that was leaning against the side of her house and propped it up against Remus's roof. Once she was on the roof, she kicked the ladder back so it was leaning against her home. She quickly crept across the roof and opened Remus's bedroom window. She crawled in and shut the window behind her. She let out a sigh of relief and plopped down on Remus's bed. A minute or two later Remus walked in with only a bath towel wrapped around his waist. He jumped when he saw Lily.

"Jeez Lily!" he shouted.

"Sorry Remus," she replied repressing laughter.

"Can you go wait downstairs?"

"Sure."

Lily got up and left Remus to get dressed. She took a seat on the couch in the living room. A sudden blur jumped in front of her causing her to scream out in surprise. She looked next to her and saw a boy who looked about ten.

"Ha! Scared you!" he said.

"You sure did, alright," Lily said.

"Are you that girl that Remo writes about in his journal all the time?"

"Excuse me?"

"You are Lily right?"

"Yes."

"So _you're_ Lily."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Chase. Your hair isn't as red as Remo describes it in his journal."

"I don't think you should be reading Remus's journal."

"He doesn't know. What he doesn't know can't hurt him."

"Well I suggest you stop."

"You're different than Gwynn. Gwynn was always more than happy to know what Remus wrote about her."

"Well Gwynn doesn't respect people's private property."

"What he wrote about you was _really_ good!"

"Stop trying to tempt me."

"Remo will never know! He never found out when I told Gwynn!"

"Told Gwynn what?" Remus asked walking down stairs.

"Uh…. Gotta go!" Chase said jumping up and running out the back door.

"Remus, I think you need a new hiding place for your journal," said Lily.

"That little prat!" Remus growled. "What did he tell you?"

"Nothing too bad. Just that you write about me and my hair isn't as red as you described it. I wouldn't let him tell me anything else. Oh, but he did tell me that he used to tell Gwynn everything you wrote about her."

"This school year is going to be horrible."

"He's joining us this year?"  
  
"Yeah."

"Aw, poor Remus." Lily gave him a hug.

"Are you two going to kiss?" Chase asked walking back in.

"Chase!" Remus shouted letting go of Lily and was about to try and kill his little brother but Lily stopped him.

"Let me handle this," she whispered.

"Go ahead!" Remus said throwing his hands up in the air and walking back a few steps.

Lily walked over to Chase and began talking softly to him so that Remus couldn't hear.

"Chase, do you know what kind of disaster you stopped?" Lily asked.

"Huh?" he asked looking at her oddly.

"Yeah! You just saved the world! If you hadn't stopped Remus and I, we would've kissed, ran away together, upsetting the perfect balance of the universe."

"You're weird." Chase rolled his eyes and walked up stairs questioning Lily's sanity.

"What'd you say to him?" Remus asked, never seeing his brother so confused by a person.

"Nothing," Lily replied innocently.

"No way, you had to say something. He's not hyper for once. You're better than Sirius!"

"What about Gwynn?"

"She just gets him all riled up. She encourages that type of behavior, says it makes little brothers so cute. Anyway, if those two get put in the same room together, you can kiss the world good bye."

After a few hours, Lily decided it was time to head home and face the music. She waved good bye to Remus and left out the back door. She hopped over the fence separating their back yards and walked in to the kitchen through the screen door.

"Lillian Rose Evans! Where have you been?!" her mother shouted.

"Nowhere," Lily replied.

"Don't give me that, young lady! Threatening your sister then running off! You're grounded Lillian!"

"Good, I'm glad!" Lily said just to annoy her mother. Lily turned and walked up to her room. She shut her door and laid down on her bed.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Later that night, Lily woke up to a loud howl. She got up and looked out the window towards the neighbors to see if they had left Spike out but he wasn't there. She heard the howl again and it seemed to be coming from Remus's home. **'I didn't know Remus had a dog…'** Lily thought. There was a howl and a yelp this time.

"Can't they keep that bloody mutt quiet?!" Lily heard her father shout. She could hear him walking out of his room and down the stairs. The front door slammed shut. Lily looked out her window and saw her dad walking across the lawn to the Lupin's. Lily shook her head. Her father always had a tendency to over react. She walked back to her bed and crawled under her covers and tried to get back to sleep.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

A week later, Lily was finally un-grounded and able to go outside again. Lily was lying on her front lawn just staring at the sky early one Friday morning (by early I mean 10:00 am. It is summer after all!) when an owl dropped a letter on her stomach and perched on her knees. Lily picked up the letter and opened it.

****

+*+*+*+*+

Dear Lily,

Hey! How's the summer? Torturing Pettie much? Well, my summer's going pretty well. Earlier this week I duct taped Sirius to his bed then screamed 'fire' in his ear. It was funny watching him struggle. Too bad we can't use magic over the holidays… I knew they made that rule for a reason.

Enough ramblings from me. You free the 30th? If not, TOO BAD! You're coming shopping with Lauren and me. If you dare say you can't make it, I'll kidnap you, throw you in the boot of a car, and drive you to London myself. Scary thought isn't it? Save the world and just say you can come. So, I'll come pick you up around 11:00 okay? Just make sure you're ready and waiting by the fireplace then. Oh yeah, have Pettie in the room around 11:00. I want to give her a good scare. While we're shopping in Diagon Alley, you can buy yourself an owl! I'm sick of not hearing from you for weeks!

Speaking of owls, be careful when sending a reply with Rincewind. He's rather vicious around other people. Try feeding him first.

Cheers!

Gwynn

****

+*+*+*+*+

Lily looked up from the letter to Gwynn's owl. It didn't look vicious at all. Lily reached out to pet it, but it snapped at her hand. Lily pulled back her hand before it could try that again.

"Um… Rincewind, how about we go inside and get some thing to eat?" she asked still a little surprised from it's attack. The owl hooted with delight and perched itself on her arm. Lily got off the ground and took the owl inside; wondering what owls ate besides mice.

When Lily got to the kitchen, the owl left her arm and perched on a chair. Lily looked around the kitchen for something the owl may like. Lily picked up a piece of toast left out by the toaster. She tore off a corner and handed it to the owl, which gobbled it up greedily. Lily tossed the rest of the toast on to the table and went to find some parchment. Upon returning, Rincewind was on the table feasting on the piece of toast. Lily sat down at the table and began writing the reply to Gwynn.

****

+*+*+*+*+

Dear Gwynn,

My summer's going fine. About a week ago I told Pettie I'd turn her into a toad, which I ended up getting ground for, along with running off for a few hours. I wish I could've seen Sirius struggle. It sounds very funny. You wouldn't happen to have a picture, would you? Have you heard from Lauren lately? I'd write to her myself, but hey, no owl.

I'm pretty sure I can make it the 30th. If not, come anyway and get me out of here. I need an afternoon away from my family. They're getting on my nerves. Being stuck in a house all day with Pettie is not my idea of a good summer holiday. Save me!

Your owl is a** monster**. That thing nearly bit my hand off! It only cooperated when I offered it food. Oh and thanks much for telling me what your vicious cold-blooded beast of an owl eats. It's much appreciated.

July 30th can't come soon enough!

Tah for now,

Lils

****

+*+*+*+*+

"Rincewind, come here," Lily said. The owl ignored her and ruffled its feathers. "Rincewind, come here please. I need you to take this to Gwynn." Lily held up the letter and looked expectantly at Rincewind. Rincewind blinked at her then hopped over to her and held out its leg. Lily tied the letter to its leg and sent it off.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

On July 30th, Lily stood waiting by the fireplace checking her watch almost every five seconds.

"What are you waiting for?" Petunia sneered looking up from the television.

"Gwynn, if you must know," Lily replied annoyed.

"Is she a freak too?"

"She's not a freak."

"She must be if she goes to that horrible school of yours."

"You know, that threat of turning you into a toad still stands."

"You can't even do magic over the holidays."

"Crud, Mum told you."

Petunia smirked and went back to watching television. Lily looked at her watch and saw that it was 10:58. Lily began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"Quit that!" Petunia snapped. "You're distracting me!"

Lily shot Petunia a glare and continued pacing. She looked at her watch once again. 10:59. Lily walked over and took a seat on the couch. Seconds after she sat down, she was up again. As Lily passed in front of the fireplace, there was a rather loud bang and Gwynn appeared. She quickly moved and dusted herself off. Petunia was staring at her half-amazed and half scared. A few seconds later Lauren appeared with a bang and a cloud of soot.

"Mum!" Petunia shouted running out of the room.

"Hey Lils!" Lauren said getting up and giving Lily a quick hug. Lily dusted the soot off and asked, "Aren't you going to dust yourself off?"

"No, we're going right back through and it makes no sense to dust myself off if I'm just going to get sooty again," Lauren replied.

"Good point," said Lily.

"Ready?" Gwynn asked.

"Yeah," replied Lily and Lauren.

Gwynn pulled out a small pouch and signaled for Lily to light the fireplace. Lily grabbed a box of matches off the mantle and threw two logs into the fireplace before lighting them. Lauren went first. Taking a pinch of floo powder, she threw it into the flames and stepped in.

"Diagon Alley!" she shouted and disappeared up the chimney.

Lily grabbed a pinch of the fine powder and tossed it in.

"Diagon Alley!" With that said, she disappeared.

Gwynn threw some powder into the fire and stepped in. Petunia ran in pulling Mrs. Evans rambling on about the fireplace. Gwynn gave a quick wave before shouting, "Diagon Alley!"

****

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__

A/n: Hey, sorry all for the long wait. I've just been busy. You know the usual stuff; movies, laser tag, DDR… all very important stuff. I **HIGHLY** suggest seeing Pirates of the Caribbean if you have not seen it yet.

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	9. Chapter 9

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Sweet Misery

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+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The Great Hall was filled with applause as Curtis Zuba took his seat at the Hufflepuff table.

"Students, may I have your attention please," announced Professor Dumbledore, standing up. The applause died down and he continued, "I am sad to say that Professor Murphy has resigned from the position of teaching Transfiguration. To fill his position is Professor McGonagall. I hope you'll will make her feel very welcome here and not cause her too much trouble." Dumbledore shot a look over at James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter, who all pretended to be shocked when they saw him looking at them. "Now a reminder to our returning students and a warning to our new students. The Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Many dangers lie beyond the forest entrance. With that said, let the feast begin!"

The plates filled with delicious foods and the students helped themselves to hearty portions.

"Okay, we'd better lay off on pranks on that new teacher," Remus said.

"Yeah," James agreed. "Dumbledore will be expecting us to do something."

"S-so n-no p-prank-ks," stuttered Peter.

"They didn't say that," Sirius said pointing his fork at Peter.

"Whatcha guys doin'?" Chase said, leaning in closer to his brother.

"Chase go away!" Remus shouted. "Go make your own friends and leave me alone!"

"Are you cranky because the mo-" Chase stopped when Remus quickly elbowed him hard in the ribs. Chase lost his balance and fell backwards off the bench. "Ow!" he shouted rubbing his side.

****

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"Dumbledore will be expecting us to do something."

"Did you hear that?" Lauren asked, turning to Lily and Gwynn.

"No," Gwynn replied, shaking her head.

"Neither did I," said Lily, "but we weren't eave's dropping on other people's conversations."

"I wasn't eave's dropping," Lauren said quickly. "I just happened to over hear."

"What's your idea this time?" Gwynn asked.

"We pull a prank on that new teacher, McGonagall."

"Lauren, I don't think that's a good idea," said Lily.

"Lily, come on!" Lauren pleaded.

"We'll get detentions!"

"That's only if we get caught and we won't! Who gets the blame? Certainly not us! We're good students. Never caught out after hours, do all our homework; did very well on our exams last year… Does that sound like trouble makers to you?"

"No, not really."

"Now who do we know that's caught out after hours al the time, always pulling pranks, and currently holds the detention record?"

"James, Sirius, and Remus," replied Gwynn.

"And Peter, but he'll get blamed by association," added Lily.

"So, you guys up for it?" inquired Lauren.

"Sure," replied Gwynn and Lily.

"But," added Lily, "not right away."

"Want to establish that 'good girl' act do we?" Gwynn asked teasingly.

"Well, _if_ we do get caught, I just don't want to be associated as one of those kids you have to keep a close eye on," explained Lily. "If we're daring enough to pull a prank in the beginning of the school year on a professor, she'll think we're going to give her a hard time all year."

"Yes, but if we get caught doing the prank early in the year, she won't remember us, so she won't make that association," Lauren contradicted.

"I hate it when you're right," said Lily.

"So tomorrow we'll head to the library and search for some really good spells," Gwynn said.

"Yeah," agreed Lauren.

"What are you all planning?" Sirius asked, looking over and seeing the girls huddled closely.

"Nothing much," replied Gwynn. "Just something that includes you and duct tape."

Sirius glared at her while Gwynn smiled innocently and Lily and Lauren fought back giggles. Sirius went back to talking with his friends. No doubt the first question out of their mouths was "What's this with you and duct tape?"

****

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The students finished eating and followed their house Prefects up to their houses. After receiving their password, the group of second years went straight up to their dorms.

"Best meal I've had since I left here," said Lily dropping onto her bed.

"Bad cooks?" Lauren asked.

"Nope, family issues."

"Ah, well, I have those here as well as home," said Gwynn.

"The down side to having siblings," said Lauren.

"Older are the worst," stated Lily. "They act as if they rule you. To them you're their slave to send on commando missions."

"No no no no, dear friend of mine," said Gwynn. "Twins are the worst. You all think their great because you always have someone who understand you, but that's not true. They can be your worst enemy for that. They know everything about you"

"Good point."

"I just wish I had some siblings to complain about," Lauren said climbing into bed.

"You're a loony," Lily and Gwynn said simultaneously.

"You say that because you have no idea what it's like to be an only child."

"What's so bad about being an only child?" Lily asked.

"You have no one to confide secrets in, you've got no one to pass blame on, you've got no one to look up to or have anyone to be a role model to.'

The girls sat silently for a moment.

"Okay, you win," Gwynn said tossing a small candy to her. "I nearly won this round, but you pulled ahead at the last moment."

"How do you do it?" Lily asked.

"It's a talent," shrugged Lauren.

"Let's get some sleep, we've got a lot of research to do tomorrow," Gwynn said pulling back the sheets of her bed.

"Night," the three of them said at once. They all settled in their beds and shut the drapes to their four posters.

****

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__

Early the next morning, Lauren, Gwynn, and Lily were sitting in the back of the Charms section of the library, around a table piled with books. They weren't having too much luck with the books they had chosen at random from the stacks. They continued flipping through books when they heard footsteps approaching. They looked up and saw James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter come out of the stacks with a large pile of books.

"What are you doing at our table?" James asked.

"Who said it was your table?" replied Lauren.

"We always sit here," said Sirius.

"You go into libraries?!" Gwynn said in a tone of mock surprise.

"Let's just find another table," suggested Remus.

"Wait, what are you three doing?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Getting a head start on classes," Lily said.

"What are you doing?" Lauren asked.

"W-we w-were j-just ge-get-tting some b-books," stammered Peter.

"Just to prepare for classes," said Remus.

"Well, we don't want to hold you up by talking," Gwynn said.

"Neither do we," James agreed.

"Well, bye," said Lauren.

"Bye," Sirius said. The guys left to find a different table.

"They're hiding something," James said, looking back in the direction of the girls.

"Probably planning a prank," said Sirius.

"Ag-gainst u-us?" asked Peter.

"No, they wouldn't do that," replied Remus.

****

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"Who do you suppose their planning against?" pondered Lauren.

"Let's see, who do they hate more that anything?" Gwynn said sarcastically.

"Snape of course," Lily said.

"Malfoy too," added Lauren.

"Let's get back to work, we need this to be big," said Gwynn. "The Marauders are always 'go big, or forget it.' "

"_Marauders?_" Lily and Lauren asked puzzled.

"James and Sirius came up with it over the holidays," answered Gwynn. "I thought it was rather odd too, but hey, if they want to be morons, it's up to them."

"Well, that sounds…" Lily said looking for a word, "–nice."

The girls went back to their reading. They found plenty of good spells, especially concealing spells. They copied the spells down on to parchment they had brought with them and went up to their dorm to practice them.

****

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"When will we put this all into action?" Lily asked Lauren.

"The night classes start," she replied. "Barely time to associate our faces with names."

"We'll just make sure to not wear our school robes so we won't be connected with Gryffindor. We could say we're from Slytherin if we get caught. Lily, you'll be Emma Chang. Lauren, you're Lindsey Sommers. I'll be Narcissa Black."

The door opened to their dorm and another girl in their year and was about to walk in.

"Trisha! Stop!" the three of them shouted. Trisha looked at them questioningly. Lily picked up her wand from her bed and said, "Finite incantadum."

"Okay, you can walk in now," said Gwynn.

"Practicing spells?" Trisha asked.

"Yeah," replied Lauren.

"Thanks for warning me," she said. Trisha grabbed a book from her trunk and walked out.

"So, we do it Monday at 11:00, okay?" Lauren said.

"Right." Lily and Gwynn replied.

****

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On Monday, their first class was Transfiguration with the new professor. The Gryffindors were standing around or sitting on the desks talking when the bell rang signaling the beginning of class.

"Students, please take your seats," Professor McGonagall said, but wasn't heard over the chatter or the students. They didn't even seem to notice she was there. "Students!" Still no reaction what so ever. The professor took out her wand and transfigured a quill on her desk into a large wooden meter stick. She picked it up and whacked it down on her desk. The students jumped and ran to a seat.

"Thank you," said Professor McGonagall rather annoyed. "I don't expect to have to do that at the beginning of every class, so I hope you all are in a seat, I don't care where, by the time that bell rings and silent. Now, I'm going to do a quick roll call"

After she took roll, she lectured them on her classroom procedures and rules. She seemed to have a million class rules. Many of the students were spacing out and doodling on parchment. The Marauders were sleeping in the back of the class.

"Watch this," Gwynn whispered to Lily and Lauren. She crumpled up a piece of parchment and tossed at Sirius's head. When it hit him, he woke up and saw the ball of parchment on his desk. He looked at Gwynn who grinned maliciously. He picked up the ball of parchment and threw it back at her, but she dodged it and the ball hit Professor McGonagall.

"Who threw that?" she asked.

"It was Mr. Black, Professor McGonagall," replied Lauren, pointing back at Sirius.

"She set me up!" Sirius said, pointing at Gwynn. Gwynn look completely shocked.

"How could you say that?" she asked. "I certainly did not set you up! I was sitting here avidly listening to the class rules and procedures when I reach down to get something from my bag and a ball of parchment flies past my head!"

"You lying little–" Sirius started but was interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"I'm not going to give you a detention, Mr. Black, just a warning. If I catch you misbehaving or bothering another student, I will give you a detention. And someone wake up those three up."

****

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As they were on to their next class, Sirius walked up to Gwynn.

"Thanks much," he said sarcastically.

"Oh you're so welcome," Gwynn replied.

"What'd you do that for?" he asked.

"Just a bit of fun, and a chance to work on my acting skills."

"Quit using me as a chance to work on your acting skills."

"You're no fun anymore."

Sirius shook his head and caught up to the other Marauders.

****

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That night at 11:00, Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn snuck out of the Gryffindor common room dressed in muggle clothing so if McGonagall caught them, they'd be able to lie about their house. They cautiously crept down the corridors and used a mirror to check around corners for the caretaker and Peeves. Once reaching the Transfiguration room, they took out their wands and carefully placed the spells around the room.

"Wait, we forgot the most important spell!" Lauren hissed, as they were about to duck out of the room.

"Hurry up and cast it!" Gwynn whispered. "I'm not going to get caught because you had to cast your stupid spell!"

"Yeah, well, if we get caught, I'm blaming you."

"Me?! It's your fault!"

"I didn't say it was your fault, I just said I was going to blame you."

"Well I'm blaming you both if we get caught," muttered Lily.

Lauren muttered the spell and turned to join Lily and Gwynn and head out but stopped.

"Lauren, what is it?" asked Lily.

"We're in trouble," she replied looking over Gwynn's and Lily's heads.

"Yes, we are," said a voice they knew all too well. Lily and Gwynn turned around and saw Professor Turco standing in the doorway. "Now what could you three possibly be doing in Professor McGonagall's classroom at 11:30 at night?" Lily, Gwynn, and Lauren all just stared silently at her. Professor Turco took out her wand and said, "Finite incantadum! You three will all be serving detentions for this. Fifty points from Gryffindor. Now, back to your common room!"

The girls walked past Professor Turco and went straight up to Gryffindor Tower, where they found the Marauders standing outside the empty portrait of the Fat Lady.

"What are you three doing out?" Sirius asked.

"Getting caught by Professor Turco," replied Lily.

"You too?" Remus said.

"Busy person, she is," said Lauren.

"Where's Peter?" Gwynn asked.

"Broke his nose," answered James, "right after dinner."

The Fat Lady returned to her portrait and spotted the six students.

"You all shouldn't be out of bed," she said.

"We know," they replied.

"Phoenix tears," Lauren said. The portrait swung open, allowing them inside.

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A/n: Lala… nothing new! Hurrah hooray. p|-|34r |\/|y L4c| 0f c|-|4|\|g3! _:: blink blink :: Thank you Megatokyo… _

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	10. Chapter 10

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Sweet Misery

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The next day at breakfast when the mail arrived, the Marauders (with the exception of Peter), Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn all received owls informing them of their detentions.

"Saturday?!" they all said at once.

"What a waste of a Saturday afternoon," James said, tearing up his letter and tossing the bits into the air.

" 'Report to Professor Turco's office at one o'clock sharp to serve out your detention,' " Lauren read.

"So you have to put up with that tosser too," said Sirius.

"Well, I have to go to McGonagall's," said Gwynn. "No doubt she's heard about what we were planning on doing to her from Turco."

"You were going after McGonagall?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, we thought we could get away with it and all the blame would be forced on you guys," Lily explained.

"Gee, thanks," James said sarcastically.

"Well it's true," Lauren said. "That was the whole genius of our plan! Get away scotch free."

"Where you going for your detention, Remie?" Lauren asked.

"Don't call me Remie!" Remus snapped.

"That's right Lauren," said Gwynn. "Everyone know it's Remo!"

"Don't call me either of those! It's Remus!"

Lily looked at her watch and said, "Well, we should get going if we don't want to be late for our first class"

****

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That Saturday, the lot reported to their assigned detentions; Gwynn and Remus to Professor McGonagall's classroom, Lauren and Sirius to Professor Turco's, and Lily and James to the Trophy Room to polish Trophies.

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Lauren and Sirius stepped into Professor Turco's dimly lit classroom. Professor Turco was sitting with her back to them.

"You're late," she said, getting up. "Take a seat there. You two are going to grind beetle wings, sort potions, wash tables, and whatever else I feel like making you do." She started walking to the supplies cabinet to get the beetle wings.

"Stupid slave-driving git…" Sirius muttered below his breath.

"What was that?" Professor Turco asked, turning towards them.

"Nothing Professor," Lauren replied pushing Sirius down into a chair and took a seat next to him.

Professor Turco reached into the supplies cabinet and pulled out a large jar of beetle wings and set it on the desk that Sirius and Lauren were sitting at. She then went to her office to grade papers.

"This is just fantastic," Sirius said, throwing some beetle wings into a mortar and began crushing them. "Who knows how long we'll be here."

****

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"Mr. Filch?" Lily called out opening the door to the Trophy room.

"Looks like he's not here," said James. "I guess we can't do our detention. And I was _so_ looking forward to it." James turned to head out the door, and ran right into the caretaker.

"No so fast, Potter," sneered Filch, clutching his broom. His nasty cat, Alexis, sat at his feet glaring at James and Lily with her ghostly steel eyes as if daring them to try to escape. "You two are going to have lots of fun today," Filch said grinning maliciously. 'You will both polish trophies till they shine like new. By hand, no magic. If either of you smudge them with your grimy little fingers, you'll have to start all over again. Your polish and rags are over in the back. Get to wo—" Filch was interrupted by a loud crash from the floor above. "Peeves!" Filch looked down at his cat. "Alexis, my pet, keep an eye on these two little trouble makers while I catch Peeves." Filch ran out of the trophy room and disappeared through a tapestry. Alexis growled and meowed, ordering them to get started.

"Guess we should get to work," James said.

"Yeah," agreed Lily walking back to get the rags and polish.

****

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"She's going to be harsh with the punishment, I know it," Gwynn said as she and Remus walked to McGonagall's classroom.

"Maybe she didn't find out," suggested Remus.

"You know Turco hates us, why wouldn't she tell McGonagall?"

"To stress you out."

"Remus, you always know how to make a bad situation seem positively _wonderful_."

Remus rolled his eyes and opened the door to the Transfiguration classroom.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin, Miss Black," McGonagall said looking up from her desk.

"Hello professor," Gwynn and Remus said.

"You two can unpack some boxes in the back room," instructed McGonagall. "All the books go on the top two shelves and just organize everything else in an orderly fashion."

"Yes ma'am," Gwynn said and Remus nodded. They walked into the back room to leave the professor to planning that week's lessons.

"See, I told you," said Remus smugly.

"Uh huh," replied Gwynn. "And for that Mr. Lupin, you can take care of the books." Gwynn abandoned the box she was opening and moved on to another box. Remus looked up at the top shelf and groaned. It was a good four feet above him.

"Thanks much Gwynn," he said looking for something to stand on.

"Oh you are very welcome, my dear Remo," Gwynn replied pulling some pillows out of her box.

****

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An hour and a half later, Remus and Gwynn returned to the common room to find the others still hadn't returned.

"Looks like we got off easy," said Gwynn hopping down on a chair near the fireplace.

"I knew we would," Remus commented lying down on the couch next to Gwynn's chair.

"Shut up you," Gwynn said hitting Remus with a conveniently placed pillow. He took the pillow and tossed it back at her. Gwynn threw the pillow to an empty chair to keep the pillow fight from growing.

"Hey, I could've used that," Remus said looking over at the chair and reaching for the pillow.

"Aww," said Gwynn in a babyish tone, "is da arwm west to harwd for poor wittle Wemo?"

"Remus." He shot her a quick glare. She just smiled back.

****

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About an hour later, Lily and James returned, arms hanging limply at their sides. James sat down in a chair across from Gwynn and Lily dropped down on the couch before Remus had a chance to move his feet.

"Hey!" he whined. "Get up!"

"Too tired," Lily said hitting Remus's knee.

"We had to polish those trophies three times," explained James. "They didn't 'reflect Alexis's beautiful face at all!' "

"Great Filch impression," Gwynn said.

"What'd you guys have to do?" Lily asked.

"Unpack boxes and stack their contents on shelves," replied Remus.

"You're so lucky," Lily said.

"Not while you're sitting on my legs I'm not." Lily pushed her self up a little and allowed Remus to move his feet.

****

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Sirius and Lauren didn't return for another hour. Sirius made Remus sit up and sat between Lily and Remus, while Lauren took a seat on the floor in front of Gwynn's chair.

"Bad detention?" Gwynn asked.

"Yes!" Sirius and Lauren shouted at the same time.

"First, we had to crush two huge jars of beetle wings," Lauren said.

"Then," started Sirius, "we had to sort potions at least five times because she kept pointing out shelves we missed."

"After that, we had to wash the tables twelve times because we kept missing these invisible specks of dirt!"

"Then we had to go find potion ingredients along the edge of the Forbidden Forest."

"After we got every single thing on the da—ergh! list, she let us go."

"And I thought we had it bad," Lily said looking at James.

****

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Over the next few weeks, Lily and Gwynn avoided causing trouble or drawing attention to them selves in class to avoid being flagged as trouble making students (though it was too late for potions, and this behavior just make Professor Turco more suspicious). But on occasion, they helped Lauren pull some pranks, which they got away scotch free.

One day at breakfast, Gwynn, Lauren, and Lily were sitting, munching on some toast when the Marauders came to join them.

"Hello," Gwynn said, covering her mouth to keep any bits of toast from falling out.

"Real attractive," teased Sirius. "Every guy must want you now."

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Lauren asked.

"We're here to ask you to do us a little favor," Remus said.

"And what may that be?" Lily asked.

"Please start leaving a calling card for your pranks," replied James.

"Why would we do that?" Gwynn questioned.

"Quit talking with your mouth full," snapped Sirius. "I'm losing my appetite."

Gwynn opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. Sirius glared at her with a mix of disdain and disgust. She closed her mouth and swallowed her food.

"Why would we do that?" Gwynn repeated.

"It's not that we don't mind you guys pulling pranks, it's just the fact that we're getting blamed," James explained.

"Aw, can't handle the detentions?" Lauren said mockingly.

"We just want to beat our previous record pulling pranks worthy of our status," Sirius said.

"So our pranks are not 'Marauder' material?" Gwynn asked, slightly offended.

"In a matter of speaking, yes," replied Sirius.

"Gee, thanks," said Lauren sarcastically.

"Don't take it so seriously," said James. "You just don't have our highly creative minds."

"Yes, and I'm quite glad," Lily said. "I don't think I could support the huge head that comes with it."

The boys opened their mouths to object but closed them.

"Okay, you win," Remus said.

"You owe me candy," Lily said taking a sip from her goblet. Lily spit what she had thought was pumpkin juice back into her goblet. "What did you four do?" She grabbed an empty glass and poured herself a glass of water to get rid of the horrible garlic taste in her mouth.

"Peter, did you take our concoction to the kitchens?" Sirius asked sounding slightly annoyed.

"Y-yes, b-but I p-put it-t aw-way fr-from the b-breakfas-st stuff," he stuttered.

"Peter, you weren't supposed to do that!" James said.

"It was a simple mistake, go easy on him," Remus said. Peter looked gratefully at Remus.

"What is that stuff?" Lauren said leaning over the table to look at the reddish liquid in Lily's goblet.

"Just a little prank that was _supposed_ to be for tonight and as a soup, but _somebody_ took it to the kitchen too early and put it near the pumpkin juice," explained James, glaring at Peter. Peter sank deep into his chair.

"Well what is it?" Gwynn asked.

"Gazpacho," replied Sirius.

"That is not gazpacho," Lily said.

"Well, it is," said Remus. "With added ingredients."

"Like what?" Lauren inquired.

"Well, a potion, and more garlic," answered James. Lily was about to shout at them when Sirius interrupted her, "Don't worry Lily dear. The potion won't affect you because you didn't swallow." They heard a shriek from the Hufflepuff table. A girl's hair had turned into snakes.

"Looks like she did though," said Remus.

Lauren, Gwynn and Lily watched aghast as the girl ran half screaming, half crying, out of the Great Hall.

"That was cruel!" Lily said.

"It wasn't intended to go to all the tables!" Sirius said in defense.

"Just the Slytherins," said James.

A few more screams rang out from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin tables. The Slytherin fifth year yelled as one of the snakes bit his nose. The other students eyed the food before them suspiciously, wondering what was causing hair to turn to snakes. The Gryffindors were swatting at the snakes to keep them away from their faces.

"Well, that went rather well," said James looking around. The Slytherin fifth year was shouting something about venom while the Ravenclaws were covering their faces to protect themselves. Some of the Gryffindors had managed to hold back the snakes.

"Time to leave?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, we should," replied Remus. "We don't want to be late for class."

"Y-yeah," agreed Peter.

"Goodbye ladies," said James. The Marauders rushed out of the Great Hall, unnoticed.

"We should get going too," said Gwynn.

"Yeah, and quick," agreed Lauren.

The girls got out of their seats and walked quickly to the door when Professor Turco stopped them.

"Leaving the scene of the crime are we?" she asked.

****

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Lily, Gwynn, and Lauren sped down the corridors to catch the guys before they left the common room. They reached the portrait just as the boys were leaving.

"We have to talk," Lauren said.

"About what, Ren?" James asked, acting clueless.

"You have to tell Turco you pulled the prank," Lily said.

"Why would we want to do that?" questioned Sirius.

"Sirius, we're facing two months detention," said Gwynn, "and possible expulsion if Turco convinces Dumbledore, thought I highly doubt she will."

"Sounds reasonable for that stunt you three pulled," teased James. "You horrible rule breaking students!"

"Cute," Lauren said sarcastically.

"Oh well, I guess we'll be giving you guys a run for the detention record," said Lily shrugging. The boys rolled their eyes and walked down the hall. Gwynn, Lily, and Lauren said the password to the fat lady and climbed into the common room to get their stuff for their first class.

****

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4|_|+|-|0rz |\|0+3: l33t |5 f|_||\|.

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	11. Boxer Shorts and Secret Passages

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Sweet Misery

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Boxer Shorts and Secret Passages

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It was the beginning of the Christmas holidays and the Marauders, Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn were all staying for the holidays. They all were sitting down in the common room close to the fireplace to keep warm. Gwynn and Remus were playing wizarding chess with high wages on the game, Lauren was sitting on the floor with an Exploding Snap deck playing solitaire, while Sirius, Lily, James, and Peter were sitting in arm chairs around the table where Gwynn and Remus were playing.

"How many detentions are you guys at?" Lily asked James.

"Forty," he replied.

"Really?" said Lauren, looking up from her game. "We have fifty-six." As Lauren was turned away from her game, Gwynn leaned down and switched a few of the unturned cards around.

"Check," Remus announced.

"No way!" Gwynn shouted scanning the board. "I want those boxers!"

"Boxers?" Sirius asked.

"Queen to D5!" Gwynn commanded.

"Gwynn! Boxers?" James asked.

"It's apart of the stakes," explained Remus.

"And those are?" Lily inquired.

"Thirteen chocolate frogs, five sugar quills, seven licorice wands, two galleons, fifteen sickles, twenty-one knuts, Lily's charms essay—("Hey!")—James's transfiguration homework for a month, my favorite bra, and a pair of Remus's boxers," replied Gwynn.

"Your favorite bra and Remus's boxers?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah," said Remus.

"Wh-why?" Peter stuttered.

Gwynn looked at him and replied seriously, "Because I desperately want those boxers."

"And I figured it'd only be fair for me to get something personal of hers," said Remus.

The group stopped what they were doing and watched the game intently. The game went on for another fifteen minutes till Gwynn looked up from the game and grinned widely at Remus.

"Rook to C8," she said, no taking her eyes off him. Remus's eyes widened when he saw what just happened. "Checkmate!"

"But—but I had the perfect strategy!" Remus said looking at the board in disbelief. Gwynn started loading the candy and money that lied on the table into her robe pockets.

"Your boxers are mine, Lupin!" said Gwynn triumphantly. Remus grumbled something then led Gwynn up to his dormitory. Moments later Gwynn came down clutching a pair of boxers she grabbed from his drawer.

"Lily, you own me your charms essay and James, I expect you to do a good job on that transfiguration homework!" Gwynn said.

"Yes, your majesty!" Lily and James said. James bowed and Lily curtsied.

"Cute," said Gwynn. "I'm going to put these away." Gwynn walked up the stairs to the second year girl's dorm.

"Well, I'm going back to my game of solitaire," said Lauren. She looked down at the layout before her and played a little longer, then growled in frustration. "I lost again! I've been playing for an hour and I haven't won once!" Lauren tossed down the deck of cards and it exploded on contact with the floor causing the hem of her robes to start to burn. Lauren grabbed a book that was leaned up against a chair and hit the small fire out.

"Want to know the secret to why you've been losing?" Sirius asked.

"Badly shuffled cards?" Lauren replied.

"Nah, Gwynn was switching your cards around."

"She is so not getting a Christmas present now." Lauren gathered up her cards and set them on the table. She stood up and joined Sirius, Lily, James, and Peter in their chairs.

"So fifty-six, huh?" Sirius said.

"Yup," replied Lauren.

"Feel threatened?" asked Lily.

"Nah," said James. "You girls couldn't beat us."

"I hate to burst your bubble," said Lauren, "but we are." 

"You are now, but just wait," Sirius said.

"Oh really?" asked Gwynn standing at the foot of the staircase.

"Y-yeah," stammered Peter. "Y-you're go-gonna b-be left-t in th-the dust."

"Ooh, we're scared," teased Lauren.

"Where's Remus?" James asked.

"He's still up in his dorm trying to figure out how he could've possibly lost," answered Gwynn.

"He really needs to learn to let go," said James.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
    
    The next day, Gwynn and Remus were walking around the castle, taking their time heading down to breakfast.

"You're still upset about losing to me, aren't you?" said Gwynn.

"No," he replied. "You just took my favorite boxers."

Gwynn playfully pushed Remus, who overacted and ran into a tapestry. Though he didn't stop there, he went straight through.

"Remus!" Gwynn shouted and pulled the tapestry aside. She found him laying on his back staring back at her.

"A secret passage," he said, then stood up.

"Where do you think it leads?"

"Let's check it out."

Gwynn stepped into the passed and took out her wand.

"Lumos," she muttered. They continued down the passage till they reached a fork in the passage. To the right, a staircase and to the left, another corridor.

"How bout we head down," suggested Remus.

"Okay," said Gwynn.

The staircase went down for what seemed five floors. When they reached the end, a solid wall was blocking the exit.

"What a waste!" Gwynn said, hitting the wall.

"No, there has to be some door," said Remus pushing against the wall. "They wouldn't put this here for no reason."

"Actually, from what I've read, the founders were some pretty odd people. Especially Rowena Ravenclaw. Man, she did some pretty screwy stuff. Like this one thing they mention in 'Hogwarts, A History'—"

"Something's craved down here!" Gwynn knelt down and looked at what Remus was pointing at. "My guess is that this will open up the door."

"Try it," said Gwynn.

Remus took out his wand and held it to the wall. "Aperio," he said. The wall slowly opened. When they stepped out, they found themselves in the dungeon, just a few meters from potions class.

"So that's what's behind that serpent statue," Gwynn said as the passage closed. "Always thought that was the entrance to the Slytherin common room."

"Well, now we know other wise," replied Remus. "Come on, let's go tell the others."

Gwynn and Remus ran down the corridor towards the Great Hall to catch the other Marauders, Lauren, and Lily. They were easy enough to spot at the near empty Gryffindor table.

"What took you two so long?" Sirius asked.

"Were you off snogging in some broom closet?" Lauren inquired.

"No," Remus snapped at Lauren.

"We found a secret passage," announced Gwynn.

"Where?" asked James and Sirius, instantly intrigued.

"Behind a tapestry on the fourth floor," replied Remus.

"It takes you down to that serpent statue down in the dungeons," added Gwynn.

"I thought that was the entrance to Slytherin," said Lauren.

"That seems like a common error," said Gwynn.

"I wonder how many more there are," pondered Lily.

"I bet a ton," said Sirius.

"I say we go hunting today," James said.

"With big butterfly nets," added Lauren. "You can't go hunting without giant butterfly nets."

"Okay…" Remus said. "We'll split up into groups of two—"

"Problem," interrupted Lily.

"What?" asked Remus.

"There's seven of us."

"It-t's ok-k-kay, I'd-d rath-ther n-not," stuttered Peter.

"Okay, we'll each pair up then," said Remus.

"Oh, I love a man who takes control of a situation," joked Lauren.

Remus gave Lauren an annoyed glance.

"Okay," said Sirius, "who's going with who?"

"Draw numbers?" Lily suggested.

"Got parchment?" asked Lauren.

"I do," replied James.

James went digging through the pockets of his robes. He pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment and a quill. He kept digging for a moment and pulled out a small vial of ink.

"Jeez, what else do you keep in there?" Gwynn asked.

"Just the necessities," he replied.

"Uh huh," said Gwynn. James ripped the parchment into six pieces and wrote 'one' on two pieces, 'two' on another two, and 'three' on the final pieces. James took an empty goblet from the table and tossed the slips of paper in to it. He took one slip then passed the goblet to Lily. The goblet went around the group and they all looked at their papers.

"One," Gwynn and Lily said.

"Two," said James and Remus.

"Three," announced Lauren and Sirius.

"We'll take the dungeons," said James.

"We'll start at the third floor, " Lauren said.

"Okay, we'll take the seventh floor," Gwynn said.

They all split up leaving Peter in the Great Hall to finish his breakfast. Once in the Entrance Hall, James and Remus went down to the dungeons, while the other four went up the stairs. Lauren and Sirius split from Lily and Gwynn when they reached the third floor.

"We just had to take the seventh floor, didn't we?" Lily said as they tried to catch the staircases up.

"Well, think of it this way, when we discover a passage way on the seventh floor, we won't need these stairs any more," explained Gwynn.

"Too true," replied Lily.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

By nine, they all had returned with quite a few secret passages to tell of. The group composed a list of each passage; what floor it was on, what it was behind, where it led, and any spells that were needed.

"Well, we can get to all our classes a lot quicker now," Lily said looking over the completed list.

"And avoid Filch," added Sirius.

"Perfect for late night pranks," said James.

"You know it," agreed Lauren.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

__

A/n: I was extremely bored one day so I decided to do the number drawing thing again (yes I actually pulled numbers the first time I wrote this) and got the exact same results. Odd yes? I thought so.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	12. Chapter 12

****

Sweet Misery

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Easter Holidays had arrived and everyone was too busy studying for their exams and doing to homework they were assigned to be concentrating on anything else… except the Marauders that is. As Lauren, Gwynn, and Lily were doing their astronomy papers, a wad of parchment dropped into Gwynn's lap. She picked it up and opened it. There, in Sirius's messy scrawl, was one word.

"Duck," read Gwynn. The girls looked at each other and hid under the table they were working at. Five seconds later, a loud explosion rang out from the ceiling of the common room. There were some shrieks and yells of disgust. The girls crawled out from under the table and saw nearly everything and everyone covered in green slime.

"Ugh," said Lily, picking up her Potions book. "Wish I had taken my books with me." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and began wiping off the book. She tossed her handkerchief on the floor after it was covered with the slime.

"You three are going to pay for this!" Rae, the Gryffindor prefect, yelled. Lauren, Lily, and Gwynn looked at the Marauders and saw them covered in slime, grinning at them. They were the only people who hadn't been slimed.

"I don't like this," said Gwynn.

"What?" asked Lauren. "We're beating them with detentions!"

"No, they have something big planned," Gwynn replied. "They're purposely pushing us ahead. Making us think we're going to beat them."

"Then they pull it and get so many that we can't catch up," said Lily.

"Well, we won't let that happen, will we?" Lauren said.

"No way," agreed Gwynn and Lily.

"Didn't you three hear me? Follow me to Professor Kirkland's!" Rae shouted.

"We know the way, thanks," said Lily.

Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn left the common room with Rae close behind, making sure they went to Kirkland's.

"I say we run for the fun of it," suggested Gwynn in a whisper.

"Lose her down a secret passage and just magically appear in Kirk's?" said Lauren.

"Brilliant," Lily said. "There's a passage one floor down that goes right out front of his office."

"I'll lead the way," Lauren said.

"No!" Lily and Gwynn said a little louder than they had meant to. They looked over their shoulders at Rae who was walking faster to catch up to them,

"No Laur," Gwynn said, dropping her voice back to a whisper. "You get lost even heading down to the Great Hall and that's just down some stairs.

"Fine," replied Lauren.

"On the mark," said Lily. "And…"

"Go!" Gwynn shouted.

The three girls broke into a sprint with Rae shouting after them, trying to keep up. The girls made a quick turn down a staircase behind a portrait of Virginia Le Mort, leaving Rae stumped when she reached the corridor they disappeared in.

"Fine! Kirkland will hear of this!" Rae shouted. She turned and stomped off to Kirkland's office, muttering to herself about ungrateful students not respecting her authority. When she reached Professor Kirkland's office, she didn't bother knocking and opened the door and took a deep breath to tell Kirkland what had happened when she saw Gwynn, Lauren, and Lily sitting in front of his desk.

"Miss Ruben, how may I help you?" Professor Kirkland asked.

"Wait…" Rae said, sounding very confused. "How'd they get here?"

"You told us to come here, didn't you?" Lily asked.

"Yes, you told us to come here and tell the head of house what we did in the common room," said Lauren.

"You even followed us here," added Gwynn.

"No I didn't you lying little prats!" objected Rae.

"Miss Ruben, I will not tollerate such behavior from a school prefect," said Professor Kirkland.

"Sorry, Professor," replied Rae. "I'll leave you to punishing them." Rae backed out of the office and closed the door.

"Now girls, I'm getting a little tired of this weekly ritual," Professor Kirkland said.

"I find these meetings spiritually enlightening, Professor," Lauren said. "My soul is soaring as we speak.

"These are the only times we get to see our wonderful head of house," added Gwynn. "Since you teach Ancient Runes, which isn't open to second years."

"This isn't a laughing matter," he explained. "I'm glad you all have an interest in learning new spells, but try channeling your energy into spells that will do you some good in the future."

"Yes Professor," mumbled Lily, Gwynn, and Lauren.

"Now, I don't expect to see you three in here again."

"We can't guarentee you anything, Professor," said Lily. "We'll try though."

"Good, now you each will have three week's detention," Professor Kirkland said. "Along with cleaning up the common room."

"Yes sir," replied the girls, getting out of their seats. They left Professor Kirkland's office and walked down the corridors.

"What do you think the guys have planned?" Lauren inquired.

"I don't know," replied Lily. "We need to get someone to spy for us."

"The guys know all our friends," said Gwynn. "We need someone they know is not associated with us." The girls thought about this for a while.

"That girl!" Lauren exclaimed.

"Which girl?" Lily and Gwynn asked.

"That girl, um… What's-her-name, the girl who just transferred this year, the new one," rambled Lauren.

"Abigail?" Gwynn suggested.

"Yeah, her," said Lauren.

"Good thinking, we'll talk her into spying on the Marauders to figure out their plan so we can stop it," Lily said.

"Well, we know they're not pulling it off yet, Remus's gone," said Gwynn.

"Yeah… Where is he?" Lauren asked.

"His father's awfully sick again," replied Lily. "I hope he's okay…"

"Yeah, he seems to be getting sick a lot," Lauren said. "He was sick last month, and the month before that, and the month before that…"

"Then last year it was his little brother," said Gwynn. "I hope he doesn't catch what they have."

"That'd be horrible," Lauren said.

The girls reached the portrait of the fat lady shortly there after. They said the password ("Kappa Fin") and walked inside. They made a bee line for the stairs to their dormitories but stopped when they heard the Marauders shouting for them.

"How many?" Sirius shouted.

"Three weeks," replied Lily, as if it was nothing at all.

"And we have to clean up," added Gwynn.

"But, oh no," Lauren said, with mock disappointment, "it's already cleaned up. I guess the house elves beat us to it."

"I kn-knew w-we sh-should've st-stopped-d them," stammered Peter.

"Oh no you didn't," said James. "You were too busy whipping slime at the head boy with us."

"Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we have homework to do," explained Gwynn.

"Yeah, so have fun," said Lauren. Gwynn, Lauren, and Lily grabbed their books off the table they left them at and walked up to their dorm to see if Abigail was there.

"They're up to something," said Sirius.

"Th-they must-t kn-know that w-we're up t-to someth-thing," Peter said.

"No, no way," objected James. "We've taken every precaution so that they wouldn't find out."

"They must be planning a huge prank and we've just been helping them out with detentions!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Well, we'll just have to make ours bigger."

"Naturally."

**__**

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

"Abigail?" Lily called out to their dorm. "Abigail are you in here?"

"She could've been in the common room and we didn't see her," suggested Lauren.

A girl opened the curtains to a bed on the far right side of the room and hopped off her bed.

"I'm Abigail," the girl said just above a whisper.

"Hi Abi," said Gwynn. "I'm Gwynn, this is Lily, and this is Lauren."

"I know who you are," Abigail replied softly. "You three along with those boys cause a lot of trouble for Gryffindor. It's a wonder we're still in the lead for house points. And it's Abigail."

"Hmm, quite a mouth on her," said Gwynn. "I like it, now if she were just a little more assertive."

"Look, Abi," started Lauren.

"Abigail," she corrected.

"_Abigail_, the guys are planning a huge prank that will none the less be pulled when we can't get more detentions, which means Gryffindor will be unable to earn back the immense amount of points they'll lose."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"We need your help to stop them," explained Lily.

"Why me?" Abigail asked.

"You can easily slip in unnoticed and find out what, where, and when," replied Gwynn.

"Why should I help you three?"

"Don't think of it as helping us, think of it as helping Gryffindor win the house cup," said Lily.

"I guess I could help…" Abigail said.

"Great!" exclaimed Lauren.

"Now, Abigail, you have to be like their shadow, though don't let them catch on to you," said Gwynn. Abigail nodded and fixed her glasses. "So never let them see your face, they're not to good with remembering faces, but if they see your face repeatedly, they'll start to suspect something."

"Except Remus," added Lily. "He's very good with remembering faces."

"Right," said Abigail.

"Now Abi ("Abigail"), go and report back to us when you have their plan," instructed Lauren. Abigail nodded and grabbed her Charms book from her bed and walked down to the common room, her head hung so her hair draped down, blocking her face from view. Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn sat down on their beds and spread their books out in front of them.

"In no time, we'll have their plans, be able to prevent them, and we will hold the detention record," said Lauren.

"It's so perfect, they'll never know," agreed Gwynn.

**__**

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

(A/n: Bold means Abi's notes.)

Abigail found the Marauders huddled together in a small circle they formed. She crept over and took a seat on the couch behind them and made it look as if she was studying and taking notes over the section she was reading.

"If we do it the first day of exams in Professor Turco's, no doubt she'll give us detentions everyday till the final day," said James.

"B-but she'll g-go over b-board on th-the p-points," stammered Peter. "E-everyone kn-knows she w-wants S-slyth-therin t-to w-win."

"True, there's a down side to her class," mumbled James.

****

**First day of exams

Professor Turco's? Major detentions, major point loss. 

"How about Herbology?" suggested Sirius. "Also first day and there's many plants to cause trouble with and Professor Janken isn't a head of house."

"He's also not to keen on giving detentions, just lectures," added James.

****

Professor Janken's? Many items of destruction, though not keen on detentions.

"H-how ab-bout A-a-astronomy?" Peter said.

****

Must get that Peter kid to stop stuttering.

"Though a good idea, we might not be on top of our game that late," said Sirius. "You know how boring that class is."

****

Contrary to belief, Sirius actually does think.

No Astronomy.

"So Potions it is?" asked James.

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Well tell Remus when he gets back."

"A-are y-you s-sure ab-bout th-that?" Peter questioned. 

A good quill down the throat should stop that stutter…

"Yes, Peter," sighed James, slightly annoyed.

"Ok-kay," stuttered Peter.

"Now that we're done discussing the prank for the time being, we should study," said James.

"Oh you're no fun," Sirius said.

Abigail sighed when she heard they weren't going to be discussing the prank, but stuck around any way just incase they started again. Unknown to the Marauders; Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn were sneaking up to their dorm at that moment. Luckily for them, there was no one in the second year boys' dorm.

"Where should we stick the listening charm?" Lauren asked.

"How about under their beds?" said Gwynn.

Lily and Lauren nodded. The girls quickly slid under each of the Marauders beds and placed the charm.

"Okay, that's taken care of," said Lily. "Let's get out of here before someone comes." The three of them quickly ran down the stairs and back up to their dorm. Once arriving, they started on their homework once again.

Around ten, Abigail returned and handed Gwynn the paper with her notes.

"Half of these are ways to stop Peter from stuttering!" exclaimed Gwynn.

"I was bored," shrugged Abigail.

"I didn't think of that one…" Lauren said reading Abigail's list over Gwynn's shoulder.

"Well, what matters is that we know where and when," said Lily.

"I'm guessing they're going to wait to discuss what they're going to do when Remus gets back," said Abigail.

Lauren picked up a set of headphones that were sitting on her bed side table and slipped them on.

"I think Abi's right," said Lauren.

"Abigail," corrected Abigail.

"All they're talking about it girls right now," Lauren continued. "They all seem to like that seventh year Ravenclaw seeker."

"Mmmm, pleasant," said Gwynn.

"Oooh, here's something interesting, what they'd do for a million galleons." Lauren was silent for a few moments, before throwing the headphones off and shrieking, "EW!"

"What?" the other girls in the dorm asked.

"James asked Sirius if he would french Malfoy for a million galleons, and Sirius said he would if the galleons came in one lump sum and not monthly installments."

"Gwynn, your brother is sick," said Lily.

"I know," replied Gwynn. "Be glad you all don't have to live with him."

"I'm going to have nightmares," Lauren said.

Lauren picked up the headphones and set them back on her bedside table, shivering at the thought of Sirius kissing Malfoy.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

__

A/n: Progress is slow. Slow is evil. Evil is… um… I know this one… oh yeah! Evil is… crap, I forgot it again.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	13. Chapter 13

****

Sweet Misery

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

After Remus returned to school and much spying on Abigail's part, the girls finally knew where, when, and what. It was the night before the first day of exams and Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn were sitting in their dorm trying to find a way to stop them.

"How can we stop them from draining the lake, during class?" Lauren said pacing back and forth. "Draining the lake…" she mumbled. Gwynn and Lily sat back watching her pace back and forth. She'd occasionally stop and mutter something to herself, then resume pacing.

"She's been doing that for an hour," stated Lily. "Should we stop her?"

"We should," replied Gwynn, "but we won't."

"That's it!" Lauren shouted.

"What?" Gwynn and Lily asked.

"We just have to distract them from the prank!" Lauren said.

"And how do you propose we do that?" inquired Lily.

Lauren opened her mouth to reply, but shut it when nothing came to mind. She then resumed pacing.

"Thought so," said Gwynn.

"Hey, Ren, how bout we just do whatever comes to mind when we see one of them performing the spell?" suggested Lily.

Lauren abruptly stopped pacing. "Brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Well, I think it's because it was a _brilliant_ plan," said Gwynn.

"Oh shut up," snapped Lauren.

"It's so hard being the brilliant one in this group," sighed Lily.

"You?" said Gwynn. "The brilliant one? Please! I'm the brilliant one!"

"Excuse me but who comes up with _all_ the pranks?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, and who's the one that gets lost around the school?" retorted Lily. Lauren crossed her arms and looked down. "I thought that much."

"What makes you the brilliant one?" asked Gwynn.

"I come up with ways to get the guys blamed when you guys screw up on a prank," replied Lily.

"When _we _screw up?" said Lauren.

"If I do remember correctly," Gwynn said, "it was you who knocked over that glass goblet in Turc's office, nearly getting us caught."

"But I got it pinned on the guys didn't I?" Lily said.

"No, Filch just assumed it was the guys," replied Lauren.

"Okay then, Gwynn and I are both the brilliant ones," said Lily.

"Lauren, you're semi-brilliant," added Gwynn. Lauren rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed. She sighed loudly and fell back.

"Well, with luck, Lily's idea will work," Lauren said staring up at the ceiling.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The next day at breakfast, nearly everyone was doing some last minute cramming for the exams, with the exception for some true blue Ravenclaws who had practically memorized the textbooks. The girls sat in their normal places at the Gryffindor table, and waited for the Marauders to join them. When the Marauders entered, instead of sitting with the girls, they took seats at a deserted end of the table.

"They must be perfecting their plans," Gwynn said.

"Too bad we're going to destroy them," said Lauren.

"If we can," stated Lily.

"Lily—" started Lauren but was cut off by Gwynn.

"We'd better get going," she said looking down at her watch. "Don't want to be late for potions."

The girls gathered up their stuff and walked down to the potions classroom, with some of the other Gryffindors. As it got closer to the start of class, more students filed in. Just as the bell rang, the Marauders ran in.

"You're late," Professor Turco said sneering.

"Technically, we're not," said James.

"He's right, you know," agreed Sirius.

"Yes, because the bell had not finished ringing, you see," explained Remus. "Therefore, class had not officially started. We can't very well get a detention for being on time for class."

Professor Turco glowered at them as she motioned for them to take their seats. She gave them all the assignment for their exams and set them to work. The girls occasionally glanced over at the Marauders to see if they were up to something. They always seemed to be working diligently on their potions. Lily caught Lauren's eye and gave her a look that said, "Guess they're not doing it." Professor Turco got up from her desk and walked into her office. The Marauders grinned. Sirius pulled out his wand and prepared to say the spell when he was hit with some of flobberworm mucus. He quickly wiped it off his forehead and looked in the direction from which it came. There was Gwynn smiling and waving. Sirius grinned maliciously and grabbed some salamander eyes and whipped them at her. Gwynn ducked causing the eyes to hit Snape's ear. Snape yelped and immediately began wiping at his ear to get the eyes off him. Lily giggled. Snape whirled around and glared at Lily, who instantly stopped. Snape picked up some of his mandrake root and hurled it over at her. The root didn't go too far, for it hit Narcissa Black. She shrieked as some of the root went down the back of her robes. Professor Turco ran out from her office.

"What is going on here?" she asked looking around.

Lindsey Sommers' hand shot up. "I can tell you Professor!"

"Yes, Miss Sommers?"

"Well, right after you left, Sirius took out his wand, most likely to hex one of us Slytherins, then his sister flung some flobberworm mucus at him." Gwynn and Sirius clenched their fists, and used every ounce of self-restraint to keep from pounding her. "Then, Sirius took some salamander eyes and threw them at Snape."

"Why was Miss Narcissa Black screaming then, Miss Sommers?"

"I don't know, Professor. I returned to making my potion."

"Liar," muttered James.

Lauren shot up her hand.

"What is it Miss Fonseca?" asked Professor Turco.

"I can tell you why Narcissa was screaming," Lauren replied.

"And why is that?"

"Because Snape tried to throw some Mandrake root at Lily."

"Can anyone verify Miss Fonseca's story?" All the Gryffindors' hands shot up, while the Slytherins shook their heads. "Well with out any proof, I can't hold Snape liable."

"No proof!" said James, standing up so quickly, his chair crashed to the ground. "Half the class admits to seeing it while the other half is lying! They just don't want one of their own to get in trouble!"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your out burst," snapped Professor Turco. "Now does anyone know why Miss Narcissa Black was screaming?" Aivlei Daniels rose his hand. "Yes Mr. Daniels?" 

"I saw the entire thing," he said. "After Snape was hit with the salamander eyes, Lily and Lauren started whispering and Lily picked up some mandrake root and threw it at Narcissa."

"You lying little git!" Lily yelled.

"Miss Evans! Fifteen points from Gryffindor!" Professor Turco said.

"This isn't fair!" shouted Remus.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!" Anybody else?" The class sat silently, all the Gryffindors outraged at Professor Turco. "Good. Miss Evans, Miss Gwyneth Black, and Mr. Black, you'll all be receiving a week's worth of detentions for the little stunts you've pulled. Now get back to work on your potions." Professor Turco sat down at her desk at the front of the room and watched the students complete their potions.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

"She's horrible!" Lauren said.

"Hey, consider yourself lucky," said Lily. "You didn't get stuck with a detentions for something you didn't even think about doing."

"We should've just let the guys do their prank," Gwynn said.

"You knew?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," replied Lily. "It wasn't that hard to find out."

"How did you?" James inquired, looking at them quizzically.

"We have our ways," said Lauren.

Remus took a quick glance outside. "I've got to go…"

"Your father sick again?" asked Lily.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Mum wants me home for a little while," replied Remus.

"Well, I hope he your father gets better," said Lauren.

"It must be hard on you Remus," said Gwynn. "First your brother and now your father. Try to stay healthy, kay?"

"Sure thing," replied Remus. "Bye." Remus left the common room.

"Isn't it odd that his father always getting sick for three days out of every month?" James said.

"Illnesses work in odd ways," replied Lauren.

"Well, I have to agree with James on this one," said Lily. "What's makes this even stranger is that his family members only get during the school year."

"I think something's up with him," Sirius stated.

"I think we should respect his privacy," said Lauren. "He must have a good reason for not telling us."

Gwynn left the group to leave them to debate on the situation and walked over to a window. Looking out, she saw Remus and Madam Pommedeterr walking towards the forest. **He's been lying to us… **Gwynn thought.

"Hey!" Gwynn said to her friends, but they didn't seem to hear her. She sighed and left Gryffindor tower to see where Remus was heading. She quickly ran through the corridors and sprinted across the grounds till she spotted them heading towards the Whomping Willow. She crept closer and hid behind a shrub not too far away. She saw the nurse pick up a long stick and use it to poke a knob on the tree. Gwynn watched amazed as the tree froze and a passageway opened. Madam Pommedeterr watched Remus enter and went back to the castle once the door had closed. Gwynn made sure that no one was around before picking up the stick that Madam Pommedeterr had used to open the door. She quickly slipped in and pulled out her wand.

"Lumos," she muttered, and walked down the passageway. "Remus?" she called out. She got no answer. Determined to find out why Remus had been lying to her and the others, she pressed on.

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"Hey, where'd Gwynn go?" Lily asked, noticing her absence.

"Oh great, she's probably out losing more points for Gryffindor," replied Sirius, getting up from his chair.

"She could've just went up to her dorm," suggested Lauren. "I'll go check." Lauren ran up the steps to the girls' dorm. She came right back down a minute later. "Nope."

"Well, let's go find her then," said James.

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Gwynn was just about to turn back when the tunnel finally came to an end. She climbed out of it and into an old shack.

"Where am I?" she asked softly. She peered through a space in the boarded up windows and saw the faint lights of Hogsmeade against the quickly setting sun. "The Shrieking Shack… Why would Remus come here?"

"Gwynn!" she heard Remus shout from behind her. She jumped and turned towards him. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that," replied Gwynn. "Why have you been lying to us?"

"I'll tell you when I get back to school, but you have to go now."

"Remus, what's wrong?"

"Just go!"

"Re—"

Remus gave a yelp of pain. He dropped to his knees, and through clenched teeth he forced out, "Leave now!" Gwynn reached out to him, but gasped when she saw him starting to change. Where Remus once was, was a wolf. Gwynn stumbled backwards against a wall. She felt along the wall for the passageway. Remus growled and Gwynn could hear him stalking closer. She looked into his glowing eyes and froze with fear. Remus let out a howl and rushed at her. She screamed and turned to run, but tripped over a loose floorboard. She scrambled across the floor to escape. She looked over her shoulder and saw the werewolf leap at her. She quickly rolled to her left. The werewolf hit the floor where she had been and slid a few feet and ran into the wall.

Gwynn quickly looked around for the opening to passage way back to the castle. It was too dark for her to see anything. She heard the beast stirring. She quickly jumped up and ran blindly through the shack. She found herself in a bedroom. She turned to try to find another way out, when she saw the wolf running at her. She slammed the bedroom door shut and looked for some where to hide. As the wolf slammed in to the door, Gwynn slid under the bed. She screamed when its claws caught her school robes. She kicked out and hit it on the snout. It backed of for a second, giving her a chance to run. She ran back to the main room and felt along the way for the passage. The beast skidded into the room just as she found it. She jumped in and bolted down the passage. She could hear it right behind her. She reached the exit to the grounds and began pounding on and around the door trying to get it to open. With every second, the werewolf drew closer. The door finally opened and she scrambled to get out. She turned to hit the knob on the tree to shut the door, and…

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A/n: Well that's it for updates now. Excuse me while I do so some major rewritings.

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	14. Chapter 14

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Sweet Misery

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She turned to hit the knob on the tree to shut the door, and as her hand was about to pound down, the werewolf leapt out of the dark passageway. It knocked Gwynn backwards, and held her down with its paws. It growled and bared its fangs. Gwynn screamed as the werewolf sunk its fangs into her shoulder.

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"Gwynn!" Lauren shouted, sitting bolt upright in her bed breathing heavily. She looked around franticly and jumped out of her bed running over to Gwynn's bed. She yanked open the hangings and found the bed still neatly made. Gwynn hadn't returned last night. Lauren grabbed one of her robes and threw it on over her pajamas as she ran out of the room. Lauren practically jumped down the whole flight of stairs at once. She was running across the common room when the portrait swung open. Lauren skidded to a stop when she saw that it was Gwynn.

"Gwynn! Are you okay? Where were you? Are you hurt?" Lauren asked, running over to her.

"I'm fine," Gwynn replied. "Just very, very tired."

"Are you sure? You don't want to go see Madam Pommedeterr?"

"No, I'm just going to go up and sleep."

"Wait, where were you Gwynn? We were all worried about you."

"I just went out for a walk last night, came back late, fell asleep, woke up early, and went down to the kitchens to get some food."

"You didn't return to the dorm."

"I fell asleep on one of the couches. Excuse me while I go back to sleep."

Gwynn walked past Lauren and went up to the girls' dorm. Lauren just stood silently watching her go. Lauren looked towards the window to see that the sun was just rising. She rubbed the back of her neck and sat down in a chair.

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Gwynn grabbed a change of clothes and took it to the bathroom. Pulling off her black robes revealed a blood soaked vest, torn at the shoulder and across the chest. She gingerly pulled off her vest, trying not to move her left arm too much. She pulled her blouse off just far enough to see the makeshift bandages that covered her shoulder. She gently ran her fingers over the bandages. Her gaze in the mirror slowly drifted from her reflected shoulder to the scratch that ran across her chest. A few more bite marks were hidden from sight by more bandages on her upper right arm. Gwynn tore her eyes from her wounds and changed into a fresh pair of clothes. She wrapped the bloody uniform in the robe and clutched the ball of clothes tightly as she left the bathroom. She stuffed the clothes deep into her trunk and climbed into bed, falling instantly to sleep.

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Gwynn woke in extreme pain. She groaned as she sat up. Instead of finding herself in her bed and the past night's happenings all a dream, she sat on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. She placed a hand on her shoulder finding it covered with a black material. This material also covered her chest and her right arm. She had been resting under her robes and her blouse and vest were lying next to her. Sh grabbed her blouse and pulled it on as fast as her wounds would let her. She looked around as buttoned up her blouse. In a corner of the room, away from whatever light that flowed through the boarded windows stood Remus, his back towards her.

"Remus?" Gwynn said. Remus looked over his shoulder at her. He looked away almost instantly. He rubbed his forehead.

"I could've killed you," said Remus. "I stopped myself after I dragged you back here. Your wounds were so bad; you could've died before I transformed back. I would have to live with that for the rest of my life."

"It's my fault," replied Gwynn, pulling on her vest.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is. I didn't leave when you told me too."

"You never do as your told."

"Of course I don't."

"Everyone's probably worried about you."

"Yeah."

"You should get back. They'll be waking up soon. Just be back here tonight." Gwynn nodded and stood up. She wrapped her robes around herself to cover her bloodstained clothes and left through the passageway.

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Lauren sat in the common room for a while after Gwynn had went up to the dorm. Her dream seemed so real. She kept telling herself that it was only a dream, but she couldn't make herself believe it.

"Maybe it was a premonition thing," Lauren said aloud. She laughed at herself. "Yeah sure, Mum's right. Divination is real. Bunch of psychos is what those 'seers' are."

"Talking to yourself again, Ren?" Lauren looked up and saw Sirius standing next to her chair.

"Yeah, well, I'm just insane that way," replied Lauren.

"Did Gwynn ever return last night?"

"She said she did. She told me she came in late, fell asleep on a couch, got up early and went down to the kitchens for some food. She's sleeping now."

"Well, as long as she got back."

"Yup."

"Nice outfit by the way." Lauren looked down at her pajamas. The shirt came a little lower than she normally wore and the bottoms barely even came to her mid thigh. She closed her robes around her.

"You don't look half bad yourself. I'm very sure that striped pajama pants and t-shirts that say 'The Tutshill Tornados rock my socks' are all the rage in London."

"Point taken."

"I thought so."

"This isn't my shirt by the way."

"Really now? Is it Gwynn's?"

"No, Liam's."

"How sweet, wearing your brother's hand-me-downs with pride!"

"Yeah, yeah."

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A little later after Sirius and Lauren had gotten changed and met up with the others (except Gwynn who was still sleeping); they went down to the great hall for some breakfast. When they returned, they found Gwynn standing by the window, with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She seemed transfixed by something outside the window.

"Sleep well?" said Lily.

"Where were you last night?" Sirius asked.

"Hmm?" Gwynn replied looking away from the window. "Oh, no where special. Just out by the lake."

"Is something wrong?" said Lauren.

"No, I'm fine," Gwynn asked, smiling.

"That's good to know," replied James. "Hey, who's up for a game of exploding Snap?" They all agreed to play and sat down around a table in the common room.

"We get our exam scores tomorrow don't we?" Lauren asked, as the deck exploded on Sirius.

"Yeah, will Remus be back by then?" Lily asked.

"I th-think s-so," replied Peter.

"Oi, Gwynn!" Sirius said snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Huh? Oh, my deal," she said.

"What's on you mind?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," replied Gwynn.

They continued to play Exploding Snap until lunch when they headed down to the Great Hall for lunch, with the exception of Gwynn, who said she wasn't feeling well when they reached the Entrance Hall and went back to Gryffindor Tower. She though, didn't head straight back. She slipped into the Hospital Wing and managed to knick some clean dressings without Madam Pommedeterr seeing her. Stuffing the dressings in her pockets, she went back to Gryffindor Tower.

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Later that day, Lily, Lauren, and the Marauders were all sitting in the common room talking about their summer plans since the last day of school was tomorrow. Gwynn came running down the stairs to the common room and walked quickly across the common room.

"Gwynn, come and sit down," Lily said, motioning to an empty chair.

"No, I must be going," replied Gwynn.

"Where you going?" asked Sirius.

"A walk. A _long_ walk," said Gwynn.

"Sounds great, I'll join you," said Lauren, standing up and walking over to the portrait hall.

"No, no, stay here," replied Gwynn. "You'd have a much better time staying here." She glanced towards the window.

"Oh come on Gwynn, why wouldn't I have a good time with my friend."

"Lauren, I highly suggest you stay here." Gwynn made for the exit, but Lauren quickly blocked her.

"You're not actually going for a walk are you? Where are you going?"

"That's not important, please move." Gwynn made to go around her but Lauren grabbed her shoulder.

"Gwynn you've been acting weird all day!"

"Let me GO!" Gwynn shoved Lauren back and ran out of the common room. Lauren fell into a table, knocking it over causing everyone in the common room to look up. Lily and the others ran over to her. Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"Thanks Sirius," she said.

"What's wrong with her?" James asked.

"No clue, she's acted like that before," replied Sirius.

"M-maybe w-we sh-should l-let her w-walk it-t off," stuttered Peter.

"That'd probably be best idea," agreed Lily.

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Lily and Lauren sat up late that night in their dorm waiting for Gwynn to return. Lauren drifted off to sleep around midnight. Lily followed in suit around one. The next morning, they both woke up around seven and there was still no Gwynn. Lauren and Lily quickly packed their trunks and dragged them down to the common room to wait for her. The rest of the Gryffindors slowly appeared within the next hour.

"Hey, did Gwynn come back last night?" Sirius asked sitting down next to Lauren.

"No, and she still hasn't showed up," replied Lily. James and Peter sat down. "I hope she's okay."

The portrait swung open and in walked Remus and Gwynn.

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"Thanks for helping me through that Remus," Gwynn said, climbing through the entranceway.

"No problem," he replied.

As they walked into the packed common room, Gwynn froze and started to look around nervously. Remus turned when he heard her breathing heavily. Remus quickly walked her through the common room. They went mostly unnoticed except by the Marauders, Lily, and Lauren. Sirius was the first out of his seat and ran to the stairs where Remus was trying to calm her down.

"Gwynn calm down," he said. "Deep breaths. You're going to have to calm down. They don't know, and they won't. Just calm down."

"Remus!" Sirius called out running towards the dorm steps. "What's wrong with Gwynn?"

"Nothing," replied Remus, smiling in an assuring way.

"My morning run seems to have caught up with me," Gwynn said still breathing heavily. The others caught up with them.

"You okay Gwynn?" Lily asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, her breathing returning to normal.

"What was up with you last night?" said James.

"I needed to be alone, that's all," she said. Gwynn smiled at her friends but faltered slightly when she saw Lauren looking suspiciously between Remus and Gwynn.

"I'll be right back," Lauren said.

"Where are you going?" Gwynn asked.

"Just to the library for a moment," Lauren replied. "I'll be back before we have to leave for the station." Lauren ran through the common room and down to the library.

"Remus, can I talk to you a moment?" Gwynn asked, with a sense of urgency.

"Sure," he replied and followed her as she led him to an empty corner of the common room.

"Remus, she knows!" Gwynn said. "Oh no, oh no, she knows. How could she know?! No one at all saw my bite marks, how could she know?!"

"Gwynn, calm down," Remus said. "Who knows?"

"Lauren! Didn't you see the way she was staring at us?"

"That doesn't mean she knows! Calm down. You need to control yourself. You can't go panicking over every little thing!"

"You're right…"

"Of course I'm right." Remus smirked. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you." Gwynn rolled her eyes and hit his shoulder. She and Remus walked back over to Sirius, James, Peter, and Lily.

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Lauren pushed open the doors to the library and strode quickly to the stacks.

"Hello Madam Strife," she said passing the librarian, who watched her walk by with a curious eye. It's not usual for her to have students looking for a book on the last day.

Near the back of the library she found the book she was looking for.

"Symptoms include increased violence, increased aggression, unprovoked rages, restlessness, nervousness, and insomnia," Lauren read. "Well, the aggression and nervousness fit... What if that dream was true?" Lauren slammed the book shut and slipped it on to the shelf. She looked down at her watch and rushed out of the library and back up to Gryffindor tower to grab her trunk.

"Sorry I took so long!" Lauren said, running past Gwynn and Lily towards the dorms.

"Ren," said Gwynn.

"Yeah?" she answered, skidding to a stop.

"Lily and I brought your trunk down."

"Oh, thanks! Where are the guys?"

"They left already," Lily replied, brushing her owl's feathers. "I do believe they said something about 'Snape', 'Malfoy', and 'Giant Squid'..."

"Aw, I'm gonna miss it," complained Lauren.

"We might be able to see the giant squid waving them around if we leave now," said Gwynn.

"Let's go then!" Lauren announced as she grabbed her trunk and started to lead the way when Lily quickly said, "I'll lead the way."

"Good thinking," said Gwynn.

"Fine," Lauren said.

Lily grabbed her trunk and lead the way through the corridors.

"Two nights ago," Lauren said, then looked at Gwynn.

"What happened then?" Gwynn asked.

"Remus 'left'."

"What do you mean 'left'? He did leave. His father was sick."

"Isn't it strange that it also happened to coincide with the full moon? And also everytime he left before that?"

"Coincidence."

"Gwynn, I know. I know where Remus goes. I know you followed. I know you were bitten. I know about you and Remus. I know you're both werewolves."

"I knew it! You knew!"

"Knew what?" Lily asked turning around.

"Umm... uh..." Gwynn stuttered, wringing her robes. She stared at the ground and continued walking.

"What'd you say to her?" Lily asked.

"Not a whole lot," she replied.

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Gwynn walked quickly down the corridors and out the oak doors. She sighed as she lifted her trunk into to an empty carriage. Gwynn shut the door behind her and the carriage started to move down the path. It stopped abruptly when the door opened. Gwynn looked up as a trunk was shoved on and Remus climbed in.

"Lost your comrades, I see," he said, shutting the door.

"She definitely knows," Gwynn replied, after a pause.

"Lauren? How?"

"I don't know... But she knew about me following you, and about the bite."

"You sure she didn't follow you that night?"

"Positive, she was with the others."

"This could become a problem."

"Yeah."

"Do you know how you are going to handle this over the summer?"

"Haven't thought about it yet."

"You're going to have to tell your parents."

"I know, don't remind me. It's hard enough to cope with it myself."

The carriage pulled to a stop and Gwynn and Remus climbed out. They placed their trunks on the train and found the compartment they normally sat in.

"Sirius is going to know," Gwynn said, breaking the silence.

"Best if he finds out before you change," said Remus. "I'm sure Hogwarts doesn't want three werewolves to take care of."

"Two is bad enough."

A few minutes later, Lily, Lauren, and the other Marauders came into the compartment.

"Gwynn, are you okay?" Lily asked sitting down next to her.

"I'm fine," Gwynn replied.

"No you're not," retorted Lily. "You freaked out back in the corridor."

"It was nothing," said Gwynn. "I'm alright."

"Okay," Lily said, dropping the subject.

"You two have been rather close today," James stated.

"And?" Remus asked.

"Is there something going on between you two?"

"What? No!" Gwynn shouted. "James, don't be daft."

"Just asking," he replied, raising his hands.

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When the train pulled into the station, they climbed off and grabbed their luggage. Lauren pulled Gwynn off to the side.

"Good luck over the summer," she said.

"Thanks," Gwynn replied looking at the ground.

"Don't forget to write me and we should get together sometime soon too."

"You still want to be around me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're one of my best friends."

Gwynn looked up, smiled gratefully, and hugged Lauren.

"Gwynn, come on! Mum and Dad are here!" Sirius shouted.

"Bye," Gwynn said to Lauren and ran towards Sirius. "Bye!" she shouted passing the others.

Sirius and Gwynn greeted their parents and left to go home.

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When they got home, Gwynn spoke up, "Mum, Dad, Sirius, Regulus, I have something to tell you all. It'd be best if you'd all sit down." Her parents and brothers sat down and just as she was about to tell them, the front door opened and Liam walked in.

"Liam!" her mother said, standing up. "I thought you weren't coming for another week!"

"Didn't you get my owl?" Liam asked.

"Just the first one," she replied.

"Hey! This is important!" Gwynn said from the living room, watching her mother and Liam talking.

"Oh, sorry dear, what was it you needed to tell us?" her mother asked as she and Liam sat down in the living room.

"Um... well," Gwynn stammered as she sunk into a chair across from the couch where her family was sitting.

"Well, Gwynn?" her father asked.

"I guess there's no way to beat around it," said Gwynn, staring down at her knees to avoid her family's reactions. "Two nights ago... I... I was bitten... by a werewolf."

"What?!"

"How?!"

"A werewolf!"

"No way!"

"Are you sure it was a werewolf?!"

"I'm positive it was a werewolf. I know for two reasons. One, I saw him transform, and two, I was one last night."

"They let werewolves walk freely at Hogwarts?" her mother asked, shaking.

"No, Mum, of course not. If that happened, half the school would be werewolves. I just followed him..."

"Why would you follow a werewolf?!" her father shouted.

"I didn't know! He hadn't transformed yet!" Gwynn shouted back, looking up for the first time. Tears threatened to fall as she glared at her father. "I would never have followed him if I had known! I'm not stupid!"

"Following some guy, you most likely didn't know, just to see where he was going? I call that stupid!"

"He wasn't just some guy!"

"Who, who then?!"

"It was... He was a friend okay?" Gwynn stood up from her chair. "I can't take this! If you can't accept this, too bad! I'm leaving." She stormed out of the living room and out the front door, slamming the door behind her.

"Way to go Dad," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Shut up and get your sister," he snapped. Sirius got up and quickly walked after her.

"Gwynn!" he shouted, but she didn't seem to hear him or she just didn't care. "Gwynn! Gwyneth Black! Stop right there!"

"Why do you do that?" she said, turning around.

"Because I know being called Gwyneth annoys you because you think it makes you sound like one of those classy stuck up rich types."

"Well Sirius, why have you come all this way?"

"Our dear father wants you to come back."

"I don't feel like heading back."

"Me neither."

"Great. I know where we can get some ice cream."

"Let's grab James."

"Great."

Sirius and Gwynn a few blocks over to the Potter's home, which up until last year would've been referred to as just another house. They ran up to the door and pounded on the door shouting, "Hey! Open up! Hurry!" James's father opened the door, looking quite startled.

"What's wrong?" he said.

"Nothing," replied Sirius.

"Is James home?" Gwynn asked. Mr. Potter rolled his eyes.

"Wait here, I'll get him," he said. "James, the beasts are here."

"I believe he doesn't like us," Sirius joked.

"That wasn't very nice," said Gwynn, hurt by what he called them.

"Aww, poor Gwynn." Sirius gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks."

"Hey," James said coming to the door. "Sorry bout my dad... I guess he doesn't like it when you pound on the door making it sound like an emergency."

"He has no sense of humor," said Sirius.

"We're going for some ice cream and making our father worry, wanna join us?" Gwynn asked.

"Sure," replied James. The three walked off to an ice cream parlor a few blocks over.

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A/n: Gaaaahh… another chapter done. That "Gaaaahh" is for how long it took me to write the opening. That normally doesn't take so long. Except when I'm purposely procrastinating. Oooo… shouldn't've said that… okay, I was procrastinating. Making quizzes, drawing, and all that whatnot. Fifteen should be done soon. I hope… Have fun.

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	15. Chapter 15

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Sweet Misery

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Near the end of the summer holidays, Lauren sat in her room with Gwynn, who had been spending the past two weeks there; the two of them were chatting as they packed their trunks for tomorrow. They couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts and see their other friends again.

"So you're a seer?" Gwynn asked in amazement.

"Yep!" replied Lauren. "It's like the coolest thing ever."

"So is that how you found out about me and Remus?"

"Yep. That was the first one actually."

"Lily's going to freak when she finds out."

"Speaking of finding out, does the school know now?"

"Yeah. The moment my mom found out that the school didn't know that I was a werewolf, she immediately owled them telling them the whole story I had told them."

"So your parents know about—"

"No, not at all. I wouldn't out him."

"That's good to know. What classes did you sign up for this—Gwynn what's wrong?" Lauren stared curiously at Gwynn, who was staring at something in scared silence. Lauren turned around slowly and saw a man in a hooded cloak standing in the corner. "Who are you?!" Lauren shouted. The man quickly grabbed Lauren and covered her mouth to muffle her screams.

"Ren!" Gwynn shouted jumping up and grabbing at the man. "Let her go!" she yelled trying to pull his arms off of Lauren and hitting him. The man threw Gwynn across the room and into Lauren's mirror. Gwynn laid motionless on the ground with shards of the mirror around her. Lauren struggled even harder to get away.

"_Petrificus totalus!_" he hissed, binding Lauren. Tears flowed down her cheeks as he apparated them out of her room. They appeared in some sort of dungeon. The cloaked man put her in a cell and locked the door before unfreezing her. Lauren quickly backed into a corner of the cell. The man let out a small laugh when she did so. Another person appeared next to him.

"This her?" he asked.

"Yeah," the other replied.

"Kinda young for a seer, don't you think?" The first man peered through the bars at her. "I mean, normally they've at least made it through school."

"Lord Voldemort wanted her for some reason. It was hell getting her."

"Capturing a little kid too hard for you, eh Hicks?"

"I'm just glad her family wasn't home. The two of them wouldn't stop screaming and shouting."

"Lord Voldemort should be glad to know that his seer is here."

"Yes, I'll go inform him." The man known as Hicks started to walk away but then turned back. "And Doldecork?"

"What?"

"No torturing the prisoner."

"I wasn't going to."

"I know what goes on in that mind of yours." Hicks turned and started up the corridor towards the exit of the dungeon. Doldecork took a seat in a chair right in front of Lauren's cell.

"So you're the seer," he said. He looked over his shoulder at Lauren, who pushed further back into the corner. "Some seer. Don't see why the Master wanted this one." Lauren looked around for some way to get out of her prison as Doldecork mumble to himself. There were no windows and the only way out seemed to be through the door. She spotted the keys hanging from the pocket of Doldecork's pocket. She crawled cautiously towards the bars and as quietly as she could manage, lifted the keys from his pocket. Doldecork seemed to be in his own world at the moment. Lauren slipped a bronze key into the lock, but it didn't work. She kept trying keys, checking in between tries to see if Doldecork was still mumbling to himself. After ten tries, she had found the key. The lock clicked rather loudly, snapping Doldecork out of his trance.

"Hey!" He jumped out of his chair to shut the door before she could escape. Lauren threw all her weight into opening the door and slammed it into Doldecork. He stumbled back in pain and confusion. Lauren ran down the corridor she had seen the first man go down. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she had to escape. She had to get to Hogwarts. It was probably the safest place from these people, who ever they were. But where was she anyway? She would find out when she got out of this place. She ran up a flight of stairs and cautiously opened the door to see if anyone was coming. No one. She ran out of the dungeons and down a corridor. Whenever she heard someone coming, she'd jump behind a suit of armor or a pillar. After running aimlessly down corridors, she finally spotted a set of doors she believed were the exit. She ran towards them when they started to open. She gasped and looked for something to hide behind, but there was nothing. Lauren slipped into a room close to the entrance and watched through the ajar door.

"I'm surprised you got this far with out being caught, Lauren," someone said. Lauren jumped and turned around, the door shutting behind her. "Not many people can get past Death Eaters."

"Sirius?" Lauren said. She ran over to him. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"To talk some sense into you," he replied. "They're searching for you. If you run, they will find you. If they catch you outside these castle walls, you'll wish they'd kill you. Just turn yourself in now."

"Sirius, what's wrong with you? Let's get out of here, we'll run to Hogwarts and escape them."

"I don't think so. You see, I enjoy it here. Why would I run to Dumbledore when I can live under the protection of the greatest wizard ever?"

"Sirius! Are you mad?"

"No, Voldemort's given me everything."

"You're not Sirius..." Lauren backed towards the doors. "Sirius wouldn't join the Death Eaters..."

"Aww, Ren, you're hurting my feelings. You can't accept what one of your best friends has become." Sirius pulled out his wand. "Take one more step towards that door and I'll be forced to hurt you." Lauren stopped and was shaking with a mix of fear and anger. "Come on Ren, join me as a spy for the Deatheaters. It's way more fun than pulling pranks of the Slytherins and professors."

"No!"

"It's not like we'll be hurting anyone. Well, directly, I mean. We'll rid that school of ours of the filth and it'll be perfect."

"_Filth?_"

"Yes, the mudbloods and muggle borns." Sirius walked quickly over to Lauren and took her arm. "They're ruining Hogwarts."

Lauren pulled her arm out of his grasp. "My one of my best friends is a muggle born." She said.

"You have Gwynn! We don't need those filthy mudbloods destroying the wizarding world! The Death Eaters will rid the world of them."

"Sirius, you've gone mad! You're talking about killing half the people at Hogwarts!"

"And?"

"I could never live with that."

"You stupid mudblood loving tosser!" Lauren punched Sirius, sending him to the ground. Sirius shook his head and was holding his cheek when he looked up.

"Lauren? What happened?" He asked.

"I punched you," she replied, angrily. "And if you ever, **ever** talk to me like that again, I'll kick your arse!"

"Like what?"

"You... don't remember?"

"No. I don't even remember coming here."

"Oh... Oh Merlin! Siri, I'm so sorry I punched you!"

"I'm sure I deserved it."

"Come on, let's get out of here." Lauren and Sirius walked over to the door and pressed their ears to the door to listen for anyone. Once they were sure there wasn't anything out there. They slipped out.

"This isn't where I came in... I don't think it's anywhere near there!" Lauren said looking around.

"The rooms must move around," said Sirius.

The two looked up when they heard voices from down the hall.

"That seer's around here some where..."

"Quick, back into the library!" Sirius whispered. They turned to head back in, but the door had disappeared. "Great, now what? They're coming right at us!"

"Stay here," Lauren said.

"Lauren what are you going to do?"

"Just stay here. Promise me you'll get out. If I don't make it out, don't come back for me." Sirius nodded. Lauren ran down a smaller corridor intersecting the main corridor. She picked up a vase on a table and threw it at the ground. The Death Eaters heard the noise and ran down that corridor not noticing Sirius. Sirius stared in amazement as Lauren ran off down the corridor. She was risking getting caught for him. He snapped to his senses and ran down the main corridor looking for the main stairs. Lauren ran down the corridor with two Death Eaters close behind. She turned down a corner and ran into another Death Eater who grabbed her.

"Let me go!" she shouted struggling to escape.

"Lord Voldemort's been waiting for you," he hissed.

"I said, let me go!" Lauren kicked him hard in the shin. He shouted in pain and grabbed his shin. Lauren ran off, but not before kicking him from behind, sending him to the ground. The two Death Eaters that were following her nearly tripped over the fallen man.

"I don't care what Lord Voldemort says," said one, pulling out his wand. "_Crucio!_" Lauren screamed when the spell hit her. She dropped to her hands and knees fighting back more screams. The Death Eater who was performing the spell walked up beside her and removed the spell.

"That's what you get for slamming that door into my face," he hissed. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her down the corridor. The other Death Eaters followed close behind just in case she tried to escape again. Lauren stumbled slightly behind Doldecork, still suffering from the pain of the Cruciatus curse. When they reached a door with a large serpent engraved on it, Doldecork stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Send her in," someone said from within.

"Have fun speaking with Lord Voldemort," sneered Doldecork, opening the door and shoving Lauren in. Lauren stumbled for a few steps before regaining her balance.

"I hear you caused quite a scene, escaping from your cell, and running around the castle," Voldemort said.

"Wh-what do you want with me?" Lauren asked, staying close to the doors.

"I sense fear… that's good. Do you fear me child?"

"Y-yes."

Voldemort then started to hiss. Lauren stepped back, but found a snake right behind her. Lauren yelped and moved more towards the center of the room. The snake followed her until she was standing right in front of Voldemort.

"Hmm, you're younger than I expected," he said. "But oh well, you must have a strong power to be picked up on my radars."

"Ra-radars?" Lauren stammered.

"They locate divinatory powers. The stronger the signal, the stronger the seer. Now, you, Seer, will tell me the future of my empire."

"Wh-what? I don't know how to do them on command!"

"What?" Voldemort's eyes seemed to flash red.

"I-I-I…"

"You'd better learn quick Seer!"

Lauren cowered in fear. Voldemort rose out of his chair and advanced on her. Lauren pleaded for him to give her some time. Voldemort's hand shot out and grabbed her throat. There was a bright flash and Lauren found herself in another part of a castle. She saw herself and a girl younger than herself. She could see her future-self whispering something to the girl.

"Has she told you the prophecy yet?" Voldemort shouted, bursting in through the door.

"No," Lauren replied. "She's scared and wants to go home."

"I don't care what she wants, I need that prophecy!" The girl burst into tears. Lauren started to comfort her immediately. "Get that prophecy out of her seer, or else neither of you will be leaving here with your lives!"

The scene faded away, and Lauren returned to the present time where she found herself running low on oxygen. She clawed at Voldemort's hand and gasped for air. "Pro-prophecy!" she said hoarsely. Voldemort loosened his grasp.

"What?" he snapped.

"A prophecy," she repeated. "Th-there's a pr-prophecy involved, I-I couldn't get more."

"What is the prophecy?"

"I don't know..."

"_You_ _don't know?_"

"There was another girl... I-I think she w-would know..."

"What was her name?"

"I don't know, but I can describe her!"

"Tell me."

"She had short brown hair, brown eyes, she wore glasses with black frames, she's around nine or ten, and, umm, she has a tattoo. It looks like a serpent curling around her wrist."

"Good job Seer." Voldemort sneered at her. "Hicks!" A Death Eater entered. "I want you to find a prophet. She—Seer, describe her." Lauren repeated the description of the girl and Voldemort sent Hicks out to find her. "Well, Seer," Voldemort said after Hicks had left, "aren't you going to ask if you can go?"

"No," she replied softly.

"How peculiar, not asking to return to your life."

"You wouldn't have let me go anyway."

"Smart child. Doldecork!" The Death Eater entered the room. "Take the seer back down to her cell, and don't let her escape this time!" Doldecork nodded and dragged Lauren out of the room. He threw her back into the cell where she started and looked for his keys to lock the door. After searching his pockets, he glared at Lauren. Lauren sighed and handed over the keys.

"Try that again, and you'll suffer." Lauren nodded and moved back into a corner of the cell where she sat hugging her knees close to her chest.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	16. Chapter 16

****

Sweet Misery

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Lauren laid curled in a ball in a corner of her cell sleeping. She had been held captive for two weeks now and had just about given up any hope of someone rescuing her. Lauren was startled awake by the door opening. She watched as a Death Eater placed a small portion of food down. After he left, Lauren eyed the food cautiously.

"It's not poisoned," the Death Eater replied. "Do you wish to starve yourself?"

Lauren looked away and hugged her knees to her chest. The Death Eater rolled his eyes and walked down the corridor. Lauren looked towards the plate. She hadn't eaten anything for the past few days. She only ate the food she was given when the hunger really was killing her. She crawled over to the plate and slowly ate the food. Once she finished, she crawled back into the corner and stared through the bars. She was awakened from her trance when she suddenly heard loud sobbing and shrieking. She looked up and saw that the Death Eater had returned with the prophetess. Lauren watched as the Death Eater threw her into the cell next to Lauren's and walked off, most likely to get Voldemort. Lauren scrambled to the front of her cell.

"Loni!" she said. The girl stopped crying, or at least wailing. Lauren heard her feet scraping against the ground.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"It's Lauren," Lauren replied.

"Lauren? You're here? ...You're talking to me again?"

"I can't completely forgive you for what you did four years ago, but I know you could use a familiar voice right now."

"Four years ago? What happened?"

"You couldn't possibly have forgotten! It's your fault he's gone!"

"You can't still be bitter about Scott!"

"How can I not care about our brother?"

Loni fell silent. "I care about him too..." she said softly. Lauren leaned against the wall that separated their cells. She stared with pain-filled eyes at the wall across from her.

"Then why?" she asked.

"I don't-" Loni's reply was cut short by the slamming of the door to the dungeons. Loni scrambled back into a corner of her cell while Lauren kept her ground. She watched from the corner of her eye as Voldemort and a few henchmen appeared into the torchlight.

"There she is My Lord," said one of the Death Eaters, pointing to Loni.

"She looks like the seer," Voldemort said, shifting his cold glare from Loni to Lauren.

"They're related," the Death Eater. "I found the prophetess in the same house as the seer." A small grin grew crept across Voldemort's lips, like he knew something that Lauren didn't think he knew. He walked up to the bars of her cell. Lauren diverted her eyes as she felt his cold stare upon her.

"Prolonging your suffering all to protect little Loni's secret," he hissed. "But why, Seer? Didn't she take away the one thing that was most precious to you?" Lauren's breathing became heavier. "He would've been in his second year wouldn't he? Possibly on the Quidditch team? Your life would be so normal wouldn't it? Scott was your ticket to at least being half way normal." Tears welled up in Lauren's eyes as memories of Scott filled her mind. "Pity your brother was too weak to stop a little girl from killing him. Well at least with him out of my way, I can use to powers of the seer and the prophetess. His death was for the greater good." Lauren launched herself at the bars and managed to get a shot at Voldemort's face before the Death Eaters reacted. She was struck with at least three different Cruciatus curses. She fell back on to the ground of her cell.

"You killed him," she said in a pained voice. "Scott's dead because of you!"

"I knew nothing of your family or your powers then. You know who killed your brother." Voldemort left Lauren's cell and walked over to Loni's. "Now, prophetess, tell me this prophecy." Loni cried, not responding to his demand. "Answer me!" Loni's sobs only got louder. Voldemort glowered. "Put her in the cell with her sister. Malfoy, keep watch and inform me the second she says the prophecy." The Death Eater Malfoy nodded and watched Voldemort leave the dungeons.

"Leaving me to watch over some stupid kids... I should be out destroying mudbloods..." mumbled Malfoy. He sat down in a chair and slowly drifted to sleep. In no time he was snoring loudly.

Loni looked at Lauren and noticed how much she had changed since she had saw her last. Her once bright eyes that always were full of mischief and determination were now dull and lifeless. She looked as though she hasn't ate or slept in weeks and she was all skin and bones.

"Lauren?" Loni said. Lauren looked up. Loni couldn't read what Lauren was feeling.

"What is it?" Lauren asked, her voice very flat.

"H-how did he know about Scott?"

"I don't know. He probably found it out to use it against us."

"He even knew who killed him... But how? Not even the ministry knows."

"How can you say that? **You** know perfectly well who killed him!" Lauren's voice suddenly was filled with anger and hatred.

"What?"

"You killed him! It was you! And you act as though you loved him!" Tears flowed from Lauren's eyes. "But you never loved him! You despised him! That's why you suffocated him! And you never felt any pity. You don't pay your respects at all. I, **I** go every year. And I plan on getting out of here before Saturday." Lauren glared at her sister as Malfoy shifted in his sleep. Lauren walked over to the bars, and saw no keys on Malfoy.

"What are you doing?" Loni whispered, watching Lauren reaching towards Malfoy's pocket. Lauren pressed her finger to her lips and pulled out Malfoy's wand. She crept away from the bars and back towards a small bar window that sat just above the ground outside.

"Please work," Lauren whispered, more to the wand than anyone else. She tapped the bars. "_Evanui!_" The wand snapped and fizzled for a moment before the bars disintegrated. "Yes!" Lauren said softly. She tossed down the wand and crawling out the small opening. Loni ran to the window and jumped to get out but couldn't quite get a hold of it. She slumped down and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Are you coming or not?" Loni heard. She looked up and saw Lauren reaching down.

"You're helping me?" Loni asked.

"I may hate you, but you're still my sister." Loni took Lauren's hand and Lauren used all her strength to pull her up. Once they were out of the castle, they ran towards the lights of a village that were just visible above the tops of the forest.

They weren't too far into the forest when Lauren collapsed.

"Lauren!" Loni shouted dropping down next to her.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I just tripped. Quick get going, they've probably noticed our disappearance."

"No, you're coming too." Loni draped Lauren's arm over her shoulders and helped her up.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You helped me. So now, it's time for me to pay you back."

"You don't have to."

"Yes I do. You're still my sister." Loni smiled at Lauren. "Sometimes you can be a pain... And a little selfish... And sometimes you're a real-"

"Bitch?"

"I was going to say wet prat, but okay, your word works too." Lauren rolled her eyes, and they continued through the forest. The night grew darker and the air turned cold, but the girls still pressed on. They had been walking for just over three hours or what seemed like it when they heard voices to their left. They quickly ducked into some brush and held their breath as the voices grew closer.

"There's no way either of them could've made it this far."

"Especially that seer. Come on let's head back towards the castle."

"Just wait till I find them..."

When Lauren and Loni couldn't hear the footsteps or voices anymore, they climbed out of the brush and continued down in the direction they believed to be the village. The girls continued on through the night and on through the early morning. Around dawn, they took a break at the foot of a tree. Loni climbed up to see how far the village was while Lauren sat down and kept watch. Loni saw the village and it seemed they were halfway there. She looked back towards Voldemort's castle but saw no trace of it.

"Lauren," Loni called down. "I can't see Voldemort's castle." Loni heard no response from Lauren. "Lauren?" Loni climbed down and saw Lauren still there, but breathing heavily. "Lauren what's wrong?"

"I'm... Fine." Lauren's breathing returned to normal. "So how far?"

"Lauren, I think we should rest."

"No, no, come on." Lauren got up from her resting place, supporting herself with the tree. "We gotta keep going. He could catch us." Lauren started walking, but stumbled and caught herself on a tree.

"Lauren-"

"No! Come on Loni!" Loni was taken aback by Lauren's sudden anger. She stared confused at her. "I'm sorry, Loni... I just don't wanna go back. You don't know how horrible it was! Nearly everyday they'd find a new way to torture me... But I held strong till they let their guard down and finally started placing guards outside my cell again. Those were the worst weeks of my life. You wouldn't understand... you were there for less than an hour! I don't care if it kills me to get back to Hogwarts! I'd rather die than go back, so we're not stopping now!" Loni nodded and followed Lauren through the woods. She could tell Lauren was getting weaker by the hour and if they didn't reach the village soon, she could die.

They walked straight through the day. By dusk, they had reached the edge of the woods when Lauren fainted. Loni caught her before she hit the ground. The village was still a good hour's walk, but having to carry Lauren would slow her down. She could leave Lauren here and run there, but what if there was a Death Eater? Running to the village was her best chance.

"I'll be back," she said. "I'm going to get help." Loni raced towards the village as fast as her legs could take her. Loni reached the village breathless and ran into the nearest building she could find.

"Help... please..." she managed to gasp out between breaths. The person who was in the building looked up.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"My... sister... help... edge of forest..."

"Oh my!" the woman said, grabbing her broom and her wand. She took Loni's hand and pulled her outside. "Hop on. Direct me to her." Loni pointed out the way to where Lauren laid. When they arrived there, Lauren staring vaguely at the sky. Her eyes shift to Loni.

"Loni..." she whispered hoarsely.

The woman who Loni had brought conjured a stretcher and carefully placed Lauren on it.

"Relax," she said, placing a binding spell to keep her on the stretcher. She placed a levitating spell on it and attached it to her broom. Loni and the woman climbed back on the broom and rode swiftly, but cautiously, back to the village. Lauren was taken to the local hospital and taken care of. It was about three days later before she was feeling strong enough to get up.

"Loni," she said early one morning. Loni, who had fallen asleep in a chair next to Lauren's bed, stirred and woke up.

"What is it Lauren?" she asked.

"Come on, let's go," she replied climbing out of the bed and grabbing her regular clothes before going to change in the bathroom. Loni got up and stood outside the bathroom door.

"Lauren, you're just getting better, don't you think we should stay till you're completely better?"

"I'm fine, plus there's a hospital wing at Hogwarts. I promise I'll go there the moment we arrive."

Loni gave her sister a suspicious look. "You promise?" Lauren stepped out fully dressed and looked Loni straight in the eye.

"Yes. Let's go."

Loni nodded and the two of them left the room, careful to avoid any staff members. They had a few close calls, but weren't caught. Once out on the street of the village, they walked around looking for some place with a fireplace.

"What day is it?" Lauren asked as they walked.

"Umm... Friday I think... Yeah, Friday."

"Really..."

Lauren and Loni entered the village's pub and made a beeline towards the fireplace.

"Hogsmeade, right?" Loni asked, grabbing a pinch of floo powder.

"Change of plans," Lauren said, grabbing some floo powder and tossing it in to the fireplace. She took Loni's arm and pulled her into the green flame with her and said, "Firan Valley!" They were swept up into the floo network and appeared in their hometown, in one of the shops.

+*Mean while...*+

A doctor at the hospital went to the front desk to see if the records had come in for his new patients yet.

"Hi Grace, have those records come in yet?" he asked.

"For who, Dr. Matthews?" Grace asked.

"I don't know her name. Julia brought her in and told me she'd have the records sent over once they could figure out where she's from."

"Oh, the girl in room 143. Fonseca, Lauren." Grace handed over the records.

"Wait, isn't she the girl the Ministry has been searching for about two weeks?" Grace looked back at the missing children notices they kept on a board behind the reception desk.

"Oh my, she is!" Dr. Matthews dropped the records on the desk and ran down the corridor to room 143. He was shocked to find the bed empty.

"She's gone," he said returning to the reception desk.

"That's impossible! They couldn't leave with out taking that entrance," Grace said.

"Where would they go anyway?" asked Dr. Matthews.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

"Perfect," replied Lauren dusting herself off.

"You told me we were going to Hogwarts!" Loni said, stamping her foot.

"There's something I have to do first." Lauren left the shop and ran up the road towards the graveyard. Loni quickly ran after her. When she caught up with Lauren, she was kneeling at a tombstone running her fingers over the letters engraved into it. Loni stood back and watched her. Despair dwelled in her eyes, but a smile pulled at her lips.

"I love you, Scott," she whispered, before getting up. Lauren blinked back her tears and turned to head back. "Let's go, Loni." She walked past Loni and out towards their home. Loni followed after her. Once they reached home, they found their mother not home. Lauren went straight upstairs to her room and changed into her school uniform and packed her trunk. She dragged it down the stairs to the living room where Loni was waiting.

"Get packed, you're not safe here," Lauren said setting her trunk down. Loni nodded and ran up to her room. Lauren pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. She wrote a note to her mother.

****

+*+

Dear Mom,

Loni and I are all right. I know you're worried sick about us. We're fine. By the time you read this letter, we'll be at Hogwarts. We wish we could stay here longer, but Hogwarts is the best place for us at the moment. I'll explain more next time I see you.

Love,

Lauren

****

+*+

Lauren folded the parchment up and set it on the side table. Loni came down with a suitcase and said, "I'm ready."

"Okay, replied Lauren. "You first. We're going to Hogsmeade. I don't think Hogwarts is linked to the network."

"Okay." Loni took a pinch of floo powder, but turned back to Lauren. "You _are_ coming, right?"

"Of course."

"Not like last time."

"Not at all."

"Okay." Loni turned back to the fireplace and threw the powder into the fire and stepped in. "Hogsmeade!" Lauren followed after her. She fell out of the fireplace in the Three Broomsticks. Loni was standing a little way away dusting herself off. Lauren shook the soot out of her hair and brushed it off her uniform. She picked up her trunk and signaled for Loni to follow her out. The two girls stepped out of the pub and on to the bustling street.

"Um, Lauren," Loni said, pulling at Lauren's arm. "How are we going to get to Hogwarts from here? It's kinda far."

"I know exactly how," replied Lauren. Loni helped her carry her trunk up to the Shrieking Shack. Before Loni could ask any questions, Lauren told her to keep quiet and trust her. Lauren found some loose boards over a window near the back and pried them off with much effort. She tossed Loni's suitcase through and then, with Loni's help, pushed her trunk in. Loni climbed in first and closely followed by Lauren. Lauren grabbed her trunk and lead the way to an opening on the first floor.

"This," Lauren said, gesturing to the hole, "is our way to Hogwarts."

"Are you sure?" Loni asked.

"Yes. I'm positive."

"Okay, lead the way oh fearless leader." Lauren rolled her eyes and started down the dark corridor with Loni right at her heels. The walk was long, but not as long as if they had walked the path from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. Loni whined a good portion of the trip on how her feet hurt and pleading to know how much further.

"Ren…. How much further?" Loni said.

"For the millionth time, I don't know!" Lauren snapped.

"Well how can't you know? You've must've been down this tunnel a bunch of times…"

"No, I haven't." Loni was about to question her further, but decided that it'd be better for her health if she didn't. Loni grew antsy and was dying to get out of the gloomy cavern. Lauren sighed at her sister's impatience and begged Merlin for it to end. No sooner than when she started praying, she felt the path start to head up.

"Loni, we're here!" she said setting her trunk down and feeling around the door. After examining the entire area of the door, she found a knob. She hit it and the door slid open. She climbed out first and pulled her trunk out. Loni crawled out and dropped her suitcase on the ground, then sitting down next to it. Loni looked to where Lauren was standing but saw her a few yards away.

"You might wanna move over here," Lauren said, sitting down on her trunk. Loni sat puzzled till she heard a strange noise behind her. She turned and ducked just in time to miss being hit with a branch. Loni shrieked, grabbed her suitcase, and ran over to where Lauren was.

"What," she panted, "was **that**?!"

"The Whomping Willow," Lauren replied, before getting up again.

"You _knew?! _And you didn't tell me?!"

"You didn't ask before." Lauren shrugged with a smirk on her face.

"We better get going before you **really do** need to go to the Hospital Wing..."

"Oh is that a threat?"

"Just get moving!" Loni pushed Lauren forward. Lauren grabbed her trunk and lead Loni to a doorway on the side of the castle.

"We're heading in this way so we can get to Professor Dumbledore quicker," Lauren replied before Loni could ask about taking the front entrance. Loni followed quietly as Lauren lead her through a series of secret passages. In no time based on Lauren's standards (meaning they only went down two or three wrong paths), they were standing before a large gargoyle statue.

"This is the entrance to Dumbledore's office," Lauren said.

"How do we get in?" Loni asked.

"Simple," replied Lauren. "You say the password."

"And what is the password?"

"I don't know."

"That helps..."

"Help me guess."

"Okay then."

"Pumpkin pastry!"

"Cauldron cakes."

"Bertie Botts!"

"Cockroach clusters."

The statue sprang to life and jumped out of the way, startling Loni. Lauren was unaffected and grabbed her trunk.

"You coming?" Lauren asked. "I need help carrying this up." Loni nodded and grabbed the other end of Lauren's trunk. Lauren led the way up the spiral staircase. Once they reached the top, she gave a quick knock on the door.

"Come in," a voice said from inside. Lauren opened the door and walked in. She took a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk, while Loni stood over by the door.

"Ah, Miss Fonseca," Dumbledore said, with a slight smile. "I see you've managed to find your way back?"

"Yes Professor," Lauren replied, wringing the hem of her robes in her hands. "Um, Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Is Sirius okay?"

"Yes, Lauren, he's fine."

"Also, I was wondering if-"

"If your sister could stay here? Of course, she can. We'll find room for her somewhere."

"How'd you know she was my sister?"

"As headmaster, I'm expected to know these things." Lauren nodded, showing she understood. "Now, I do believe I have your class schedule somewhere..." Dumbledore rummaged through some drawers in his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment. "Ah, here it is." He turned it over and wrote something on it. "And there's the Gryffindor password. Lauren, why don't you head up to the hospital wing so Madam Pommedeterr can give you a quick check up. I'll have the house elves take your trunk to your room. I'd like to have a few words with your sister..."

"Loni," Lauren replied, standing up.

"Thank you. Loni, come have a seat."

As Lauren passed Loni, she ruffled her hair in a reassuring way. Loni brushed her hair down with her hands and took a seat in the chair Lauren had been sitting in. Lauren left Dumbledore's office and walked down the stairs. Once back in the corridors, she walked in what she believed to be the direction of the Hospital Wing. Lauren became rather annoyed with herself when she kept appearing at dead ends. She still couldn't find her way around Hogwarts. After many failed attempts, she reached the Hospital Wing. Lauren pushed open the door and stepped in.

"Madam Pommedeterr?" She said looking around.

"Just a moment!" Madam Pommedeterr shouted from her office in the back of the Hospital Wing.

"No hurry," Lauren replied, taking a seat on a bed. Madam Pommedeterr stepped out of her office.

"Okay what seems to—oh my! Miss Fonseca!" Madam Pommedeterr did a double take when she saw Lauren.

"Hi," Lauren said, grinning widely.

"How, how can I help you?"

"The headmaster sent me here to get a quick check up. Just to make sure I'm okay."

With in twenty minutes, Lauren was declared perfectly fine and was released rather reluctantly from the Hospital Wing. Lauren decided to head up to Gryffindor Tower to get a little sleep. She, of course, found herself lost five minutes after leaving the Hospital Wing.

"I really, **really** need a map for this place..."

Lauren reached the tower as a bell rang either signaling the start or end of a class. Lauren pulled out her class schedule and looked at the back.

"Midsummer's Dream," she read. The portrait swung open and Lauren climbed in. The common room was empty. Lauren walked straight up to the third year girls' dorm and walked in. She jumped into the bed where her trunk was placed and closed the hangings around her. She laid down and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She hadn't realized how tired she was until then.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Lily and Gwynn arrived back at Gryffindor Tower after they're final lesson for the day and went straight up to their dorm.

"That was so boring," Lily said, dropping her book bag on top of her trunk.

"I know," replied Gwynn. "I thought Arithmancy was going to be way more interesting than that."

"Maybe it'll pick up," suggested Lily.

"I hope. Hey, whose trunk is that?" Gwynn pointed at a trunk at the foot of the once empty bed.

"I don't know, but it sounds like she's sleeping."

"We'll find out later, dinner's starting."

"You know, we should wake her up... She probably doesn't want to miss dinner..."

"No, she's tired. We'll take her to the kitchens if she's hungry when she wakes up."

"Okay then. Come on let's hurry, the guys said they had a great prank set up and I don't wanna miss it!"

"Great!"

Lily and Gwynn ran out of the dorm and down the stairs. Lauren stirred when the door slammed shut.

"Huh?" she said groggily. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and flung her feet over the edge of her bed, parting the hangings around her bed. She fixed her hair and straightened out her uniform. Lauren walked down the corridors towards the Great Hall, making sure to follow people who she knew were heading down that way. As she was walking down the grand staircase and into the entrance hall she overheard the Marauders talking about their latest prank on the Slytherins. Lauren smirked and stopped in the middle of the staircase.

"Black, Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew!" shouted Lauren, in an incredible Turco impression, her voice echoing in the Entrance Hall. "Fifty points each from Gryffindor for doing that to the Slytherins!"

The guys jumped and looked towards the entrance to the Great Hall, where they had last seen Professor Turco. When not seeing her there, they looked around trying to see where she was. Their jaws dropped when they saw Lauren standing on the staircase. She cocked her head to the side, placed her hands on her hips, and said, "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Sirius was the first to respond. "Ren, you made it out!"

"Yeah, only took me two weeks," she said, walking down towards the guys. "They wouldn't place a guard in front of my cell after the first escape attempt for the longest time."

"W-wait, wh-who's th-they?" Peter stammered.

"Voldemort and his henchmen," Lauren replied.

"You sound pretty upbeat for a girl who just spent the past few weeks as Voldemort's prisoner," James commented.

"Well, I figure," she said, "now that I'm here, he'll have a hell of a time getting to me or Loni while we're here."

"Loni?" James asked.

"Um, yeah... Long story, who's hungry?" Lauren said, changing the subject. She walked off into the Great Hall.

"Hey! You're not getting off that easily!" Remus said going after her.

"Who's Loni?" Sirius asked catching up to her.

"Long story," she replied, pushing open the door to the Great Hall. She paused a moment, scanning the Gryffindor table for Lily and Gwynn. When she spotted them, she made her way over to them, with the Marauders right on her heels bugging her about Loni.

"Come on! We have time for a long story!" Remus begged.

"Yeah, we deserve to know!" Sirius said.

"Well hound you till you tell us!" said James.

"What are you guys trying to get out of Peter now?" Gwynn asked, turning towards the Marauders. She nearly fell out of her seat when she saw Lauren. "Lauren!" Lily whirled around when she heard Lauren's name.

"Oh my god! You're okay!" Lily said jumping up and hugging her.

"Wha- How? When?" Gwynn asked baffled.

"Long story," Ren answered, with the guys chiming in.

"We have time," Lily said. "Sit down and tell us."

"I'd rather sit down and eat," Lauren said, sitting down between Gwynn and Lily. The guys took a seat on the other side of the table and stared expectantly at Lauren. Lauren looked at them all over the rim of her goblet.

"Fine! I'll tell you," she said. "Just stop staring at me while I eat!"

"Yes!" the others said. They looked at Lauren expectantly.

"Not yet! When we get back to the common room." Lauren rolled her eyes and continued eating.

After they finished their dinners, they rushed Lauren up to the common room. Lauren and Sirius sat down on a loveseat while the others pulled up chairs.

"So?" Gwynn asked.

"Who's Loni?" inquired Remus.

"Loni," she said, pausing, "is my little sister."

"I thought you said you were an only child," said Lily.

"I lied," replied Lauren. "I was ashamed to have anything to do with her. I hated her so much."

"What did she do?" James asked.

"She murdered my brother and never felt any pity," Lauren said looking away from the eyes of her friends.

"You had a little brother?" Sirius said.

"Yeah, his name was Scott. He and I were so close. We were each other's best friends. We never needed anyone else. He was eight when it happened. He was resting in the tree house we had in our backyard. I was inside doing my chores. I saw Loni go up, but I didn't think too much of it. Five minutes later, Loni came back down and came inside. The afternoon faded into night and Scott still hadn't come down... My mom told me to go wake him up for dinner. I walked out and called up to him, but he didn't answer. I didn't like going up to the tree house; it never felt that safe to me. I called up to him again and still no answer. I reluctantly climbed up the ladder and crawled across the floor to where Scott was laying. I shook his shoulder. He was so cold. I rolled him onto his back and his fear filled, cold eyes stared blankly at me. I screamed. My brother was dead... My **best friend** was dead." Tears flowed from Lauren's eyes, but unknown to her. Lauren bowed her head rested her head in her hands. Sirius, the closest person, placed an arm around her shoulders and hugged her.

"Ren, we're sorry..." Gwynn said.

"W-we should've list-stened wh-when you w-wanted us t-to dr-drop the subject-t," Peter stammered.

"No, I actually feel kind of better," Lauren said, looking up, the tears slowing. "I've kept that bottled up for four years." She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sirius asked.

"Mhmm," she said nodding and standing up. "Well, I'll see you all in the morning, I need to catch up for the classes."

"Okay, we'll leave you to that," Lily said.

"Night!" Lauren waved to the group and went up to the third year dorms.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	17. Chapter 17

****

Sweet Misery

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

__

.:: One week earlier ::.

"My Lord," a Deatheater said entering his chambers.

"Have you found them?" Voldemort hissed.

"No, My Lord," he replied. "They disappeared into the woods. We thought we would at least find the seer, but not even she was found."

"Bring me Sommers."

"Yes My Lord."

Sommers arrived in Voldemort's chambers shortly after the other Deatheater had left.

"You summoned me, My Lord?" Sommers said.

"You are an animagus, am I correct?" inquired Voldemort.

"Yes sir, a small rodent."

"Good. I have a mission for you. Will you accept?"

"Anything to help you rise to power."

"I need you to go to Hogwarts. There, you will wait for the seer and the prophetess. Once they arrive, stick closely to the prophetess and never let her out of your sight. Just don't let her see you. While she is sleeping, try to pry the prophecy out of her. Once she tells the prophecy, report back here. I want that prophecy, Sommers!"

"Yes, My Lord."

Sommers apparated out of the study to Hogsmeade where he went to full-fill the mission.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Lauren didn't realize how far behind she was until she attended classes on Monday. By the end of the day, she was too wiped out to go to dinner. She went straight up to the common room where she proceeded to read all her textbooks thoroughly. When Lily and Gwynn returned with some food for her, they gave her their notes from their classes that they shared with her. Lauren read through those and added the notes she didn't have to hers. When the other girls in the dorm began to come up, Lauren snatched up her stuff and migrated down to the common room, leaving the neglected plate of food up by her bed. The common room slowly began to clear. Soon it was only she and the Marauders left. She knew it was getting late when even they headed up to their dorm. Shortly after they had left, sleep got to Lauren and she fell asleep on top of her books and parchment.

****

+*+*+*+*+

Lauren woke up when she slipped off her but was even more startled when she didn't hit the floor, but more like went through it. She kicked up and emerged above the surface. She gabbed on to her chair and looked around.

"This is too much…" she murmured, snaking her head. She was floating in a sea of notes and textbooks. "No more cramming for me." After looking around a little longer, she said, "This has got to be the oddest dream I've ever had."

Lauren climbed up on to the chair and felt it start to sink. Lauren laughed at the though of herself drowning in parchment. The chair continued to sink as it drifted in the sea. Lauren caught sight of the table she had been using and climbed on to it as she passed it. As she sat on the table, a scream cut through the silence.

"Loni?" Lauren said looking up. There was another scream. She could definitely tell it was Loni, but where was she? Lauren stood up and saw a faint shadow on the horizon. Loni screamed again. Lauren jumped into the sea of notes and swam fast. But, when she went up to the surface, she found that the surface layer of parchment had hardened into a thick shell. Loni's screams rang trough her ears. Lauren pounded on the shield blocking her. The parchment around her suddenly turned to water, leaving her with out an air supply. She clawed at the wall frantically hoping it would give way. Lauren's lungs burned, she couldn't hold her breath any longer. She exhaled.

****

+*+*+*+*+

Lauren woke up suddenly looking around, gasping for breath, and just saw a pair of feet flying up above the tabletop. She stood up and looked over the table and saw Sirius lying there, sprawled out on the ground.

"Bad dream?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head.

"You okay?" she said.

"Yeah, my book bag broke my fall."

"Ouch… Wait, what time is it?"

"Uh… I don't know, but class starts soon. In like five minutes, I think."

"Five minutes! Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"I though you needed you beauty sleep." Sirius grinned. Lauren pushed one of her heavier books off the table on to Sirius, who fell back on the ground. Lauren ran up to the third year girls' dorm and changing into a fresh uniform. She was back down and shoved her notes and books in her bag.

"You do know where you're going, don't you?" Sirius asked, pulling the transfiguration book out of her bag.

"Divination," she said snatching the book from him. "Okay, ready. Lead the way."

"I thought you knew where you were going."

"I thought you went what class, not what class room."

"It's just getting later, you know."

"You're doing this purposely, aren't you?"

"You found me out. Let's go."

Sirius startled strolling towards the portrait, until Lauren pushed him forward making him go faster. The two sprinted down the halls taking the occasional secret passage. The bell rang as Sirius told Lauren they were nearly there. Shortly, they reached a dead end, till Sirius pulled open a hatch on the ceiling and a silver ladder fell down. Lauren climbed up followed by Sirius. The teacher was standing in the front of room, tapping her foot impatiently.

"You two are late," she stated.

"Technically, we could or couldn't be," Sirius replied. "I mean, it all depends on your definition of 'late'."

"Yeah," said Lauren.

"Your definition of late could mean something like a little after the bell, at the bell, or even before the bell," explained Sirius.

"Mr. Black, Miss—" the teacher started.

"It could also mean something like pink," interrupted Lauren.

"Yes, if it could mean at or before the bell it could also mean something like pink," said Sirius.

"Therefore, late from now on means pink, and the last time I checked, we weren't pink."

"Cute," the professor said. "But not cute enough to get you out of a detention."

"But Professor Oleassi, detention could have numerous meanings," Sirius stated.

"Yeah," agreed Lauren, "not only could it mean a disciplinary act to discourage students from performing the same stunt again, but also hash and unusual punishment—"

"Don't forget the perfect time to play 'kick the caretaker's cat'."

"Yes, I was getting there, thank you Siri. See, just like late, detention could mean other things too."

"I prefer to stick with the denotation of these words," Professor Oleassi replied.

"Ah but the denotation differs from adults and teenagers," said Sirius. "It's almost like a different language."

This continued on for quite a while. Lauren and Sirius were relentless in their mission to prove false meanings for words. When the bell rang, Sirius and Lauren had thought they won when Professor Oleassi informed them of their week's worth of detentions for wasting valuable class time. They hung their heads in defeat and climbed down to join James and Peter at the bottom of the ladder.

"Y-you re-really h-had h-her goi-ing th-there," stammered Peter.

"I'm surprised we lasted that long," replied Lauren.

"Well thanks for your work, you were great, we really need that more often," said James.

"Oleassi is nothing," Sirius said. "You can get away with nearly anything in her class."

The group walked into the Charms classroom and took a seat down in their usual area. They were joined shortly by Lily, Gwynn, and Remus, who had Ancient Runes before. The bell rang and the students quickly quieted down listening to Professor Flitwick talk about explosion charms. Lauren was taking notes when Sirius leaned over.

"Hey Lauren," he whispered.

"What?" she whispered back, not looking up from her parchment.

"Just to let you know, I don't think blue knickers suit you too well," he teased.

Lauren's cheeks flushed red. In the blink of an eye, Lauren grabbed her Charms book, and whacked the back of Sirius's head, causing him to hit it on the table. The loud 'thwomp' and Sirius's yelp of pain caused the class to look up at them. There, they saw Lauren, bright red, with the Charms book above her head ready to take another swing at Sirius, who was rubbing his forehead growling, "Ow ow ow ow ow ow!"

"Miss Fonseca, may I ask why you hit Mr. Black with your textbook?" Professor Flitwick asked. Lauren, if possible, went even redder.

"Sorry," she mumbled, setting her textbook down and sitting in her seat.

"A warning for you Miss Fonseca," Flitwick said. "I highly suggest you don't do that again."

"Yes sir," she replied.

When Flitwick resumed his lecture, Lily whispered, "What happened?"

"Nothing, it was nothing," Lauren replied, the scarlet hue disappearing slowly from her cheeks. Lauren shot a quick glare at Sirius who was still rubbing his forehead.

****

+*+*+*+*+

When class was over and the group had gotten into the corridor, Lauren began whacking Sirius with her notebook.

"You jerk!" she shouted. "Freaking prat! Stay! Away! From! Me!" Lauren threw the notebook at him. "PERVERT!" She turned on her heel and stormed off to Herbology.

"What did you do?" Gwynn asked, giving him a slight shove.

"Nothing!" Sirius replied, defensively.

"That was not for nothing," Lily stated, grabbing Lauren's notebook.

"Tell us so we won't make the same mistake," said James.

"P-please?" Peter asked.

"Sirius…" Gwynn growled through gritted teeth.

"All I said was that blue knickers don't suit her!" he replied backing up a little.

"You are a jerk!" Gwynn declared.

"And a pervert!" added Lily. "What were you doing looking up her skirt in the first place?"

"It was an accident!" Sirius shouted. "We were climbing up the ladder to divination, and I thought she was inside, so I looked up, and she wasn't in the classroom…"

"Come on Lil, let's go find Lauren," Gwynn said, giving her brother a look of disgust. Lily and Gwynn walked off down the corridor.

"Sirius, Sirius, Sirius…" Remus said shaking his head.

"Oh shut up," Sirius snapped.

"Hey don't blame me for your errors," Remus said, shrugging.

Sirius sighed and walked of with the other Marauders to Herbology.

****

+*+*+*+*+

In Herbology, Sirius tried to apologize, but Lauren refused to listen. Any note he tossed to her, she'd tear up, and she made sure to sit down around people he wouldn't dare go near. Which was mostly ditzy Hufflepuffs like Tiffany and Sarah. These two were so dim, they made a pile of rocks look intelligent. Yes, they were that stupid.

"Today, we'll be extracting the mucus built up in the seed pods of these Saloumus Traps," explained Professor Janken. "If you had read the chapter over these plants, you know that these plants are—Yes Tiffany?"

"Uh, Professor J? What does 'extracting' mean?" Tiffany asked in her normal breathy voice while twirling a strand of her lemony blonde hair around her finger. Sarah had a blank looked on her face as she cracked her gum loudly.

"It means we will be removing the mucus from the pods," explained Professor Janken.

"EW!" Tiffany and Sarah shouted.

"Girls, please desist," he said, shaking his head. "I'm tired of your whining and Sarah get rid of that gum!"

"But Professor!" Sarah shouted.

"Enough. Let me continue." Sarah and Tiffany slumped in their chairs. No sooner had they done so, they forgot about the whole incident and went on to talk about their usual topics; hair, make up, shopping, boys, etc. Professor Janken continued with his lecture. "Please form groups of three and take a position in front of a plant." Professor Janken said after demonstrating what to do.

Remus walked over to Lauren. "Do you want to join me and Peter in our group?"

"No Sirius?" Lauren asked.

"Nope," he replied.

"Okay."

Lauren followed Remus over to the plant where Peter was waiting.

The groups all worked on de-mucusing their plants, careful not to destroy the seedpods. The shrieks of disgust from Sarah and Tiffany were echoing off the glass walls of the green house. Professor Janken spent most of his time trying to get them to calm down.

"I have officially decided that I don't like Herbology," Lauren said, draining the mucus from a seedpod.

"Oh come on, cheer up!" Remus said. "It's not like we have to do this everyday!"

Lauren gave him a quick look of annoyance before grabbing a probe to finish getting the mucus out of the pod. The pod squirted some mucus out and Lauren stepped back to avoid being hit with it but slipped on a stray flask. She fell back into Lily who was at the table behind her. Lily dropped the flask she was filling, which shattered on contact with the ground splattering on to Gwynn's legs. Gwynn shrieked and tried to get the mucus off. Apparently Professor Janken forgot to mention that there was a certain compound in the seedpods that at away the skin upon contact. She dropped to the ground because it hurt to put wait on her legs. The class crowded around gasping at the sight. Professor Janken pushed through the crowd to get a closer look at what had happened. He pulled out his wand and mumbled a spell to slow the compound's effects and also a spell to cover the wounds.

"That should slow it," he said. "We need to get you to the hospital wing."

"I'll take her professor!" Remus said.

"Thank you. Don't waste any time."

"Yes sir."

Remus crouched down and helped Gwynn onto his back, careful not to touch the wounds. He left as fast as he could to get Gwynn to the hospital wing. He felt her nails digging into his shoulders.

"Don't worry Gwynn," Remus said. "We'll be there in no time."

"It burns, Remus," whispered Gwynn.

He pushed open the doors to the castle. Remus could feel the back of his robes getting wet. He had never seen Gwynn cry, not in all the years he knew her. Not when she fell, not even when she broke her arm. He didn't want to see her this way. He had to get her mind off the pain.

"Remember when we were seven, and we talked Regulus and Sirius into eating those cockroach clusters? We told them they were Fizzing Whizzbees." Remus began up the stairs to the sixth floor where the Hospital Wing was located. "They didn't believe us at first, but we made them seem so great. Told them that if they didn't want to fly, it was okay with us, we'd just travel to the moon and back with out them. They were so gullible then… I can't believe they ate them." Gwynn let out a small laugh.

"We were six," she corrected. "Seven was when we stole my father's wand."

"Some good times, eh?"

"Especially seeing you with pink hair."

"I was thinking of doing that again." He felt Gwynn's head lift off his back. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. Gwynn smiled back, idle tears in her eyes.

"Green might be nice," Gwynn joked.

"I'll think about it."

As they continued up to the Hospital wing, Remus continued to tell humorous stories about their past to keep her from thinking about the pain. When they got there, Remus yelled for Madam Pommedeterr as he set Gwynn down on a hospital bed. Madam Pommedeterr hurried out of her office and nearly flipped when she saw Gwynn. Remus explained the situation to the nurse since the pain had come back with a vengeance leading to Gwynn crying some more.

Remus stood on the side as Madam Pommedeterr healed Gwynn while muttering something about, "Jonas is always being so reckless… never caring about safety…"

"There you go dear," she said when she finished. "You're going to have to stay here for a while to let the potion run its toll." She turned and saw Remus still standing there. "Mr. Lupin, you can go now."

"I actually would like to stay here, class is practically over, and lunch will be starting soon so I don't necessarily have to be there," Remus explained.

"Fine, but don't disturb Miss Black too much," replied Madam Pommedeterr, before returning to her office.

"You really don't have to stay," Gwynn said.

"I want to," he replied. "Does it still burn?"

"Not really, it's kind of dulled now."

"When do you think you'll be able to get out of here?"

"Not yet, knowing how protective Pomme is."

Remus lowered his voice to a whisper, "How bout we sneak out and grab some lunch?"

"Great thinking, I'm starved."

Remus kneeled down, "Climb on."

"I think I'm able to walk."

"Don't you think she'll think it's suspicious if she hears two sets of footsteps?"

"Too true." Gwynn climbed on to his back.

"See you after classes are through Gwynn!" Remus said, just loud enough for Madam Pommedeterr to hear.

"Bye Remus!" Gwynn replied at the same volume. Remus walked out at a normal pace to avoid suspicion. Once outside the Hospital Wing, Remus let Gwynn down.

"We better get going before she comes out of her office," Gwynn said.

"You sure you're fine walking?" asked Remus.

"I'm standing aren't I? I feel like I can run a mile."

They started down the corridor when the door to the Hospital Wing flung open.

"Get back in that Hospital bed, Black!" Madam Pommedeterr shouted.

"Looks like those running skills will come in handy!" Remus said. He grabbed Gwynn's hand and led the way as they ran down the corridor, laughing as Madam Pommedeterr chased them. At a staircase on the third floor, they couldn't hear her shouts any more. Both of them were out of breath. Remus leaned back against the wall to catch his breath, while Gwynn took a seat on the top stair of the staircase.

"That was fun," Gwynn said.

"I've never seen Pomme so passionate about keeping a student in the wing," replied Remus.

"Let's get moving, I'm starved." Gwynn stood up and waited for Remus to get off the wall. He jumped from his place to a step in front of her. They walked down the steps. Remus paused for a moment at the bottom waiting for Gwynn. She forgot about the trick step at the bottom and stepped right into it. She gasped as she fell forward, but Remus caught her before she hit the ground. Gwynn pulled her foot out and stood up, with a little help from Remus.

"Thanks," she said straightening her robes.

"No problem," he replied. Gwynn looked down at the ground and realized something.

"You know what?" she said still looking at the ground.

"What?" Remus asked, confused.

Gwynn looked back up directly into Remus's eyes.

"I forgot my shoes in the Hospital Wing." She and Remus looked down and saw her bare feet and the bandages covering her lower legs.

"Too late to get them now."

"Because I'll be bound to one of those beds for probably the rest of the year."

"Lunch is almost over, we better get down there."

"Yeah. Then on to our next class."

"Hopefully the other's grabbed our stuff."

Remus and Gwynn walked down to the Great Hall where they found the others with their stuff.

"Great you grabbed it!" Gwynn said sitting between Lily and Peter. Remus sat down across from her next to James.

"Sh-shouldn't you b-be in th-the H-hospital w-wing?" 

"Yes I should, but I don't want to," replied Gwynn.

"What took you so long?" Lily asked.

"You weren't off snogging in a closet somewhere, were you?" inquired James.

"No Jamsie," replied Remus.

"You think they would tell us if they were?" Lily asked.

"Nope," chorused James and Peter.

"Where's Lauren and Sirius?" Gwynn asked.

"I think Sirius is apologizing, or at least trying," replied James.

"Poor, poor, poor brother of mine…" Gwynn muttered shaking her head.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Gwynn grabbed a sandwich from one of the plates and took her bag from Lily.

"Gwynn," said Lily.

"Yes Lil?" Gwynn replied.

"Where are your shoes?"

"Left them in the Hospital Wing. Come on, we're going to be late for our lesson."

Gwynn lead the way munching on her sandwich. As the group walked down the corridors, they spotted Madam Pommedeterr. Gwynn and Remus jumped into the nearest classroom, which happened to be filled with seventh years. Remus kept a watch for the nurse while Gwynn turned to the seventh years.

"Please go back to what you were doing," she said waving her hand. "We'll be out in just a minute."

"She's gone," Remus said to Gwynn. Gwynn nodded and followed him out. They ran down the corridor to catch up with the others who had left them there. They ran into their next class just as the bell rang.

"So nice of you two to join us," their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher said.

"Well, you know us," Gwynn said between breaths.

"We can't stand to be late for your class," added Remus.

They took their seats in the back with Lily, Lauren, and the other Marauders. The class was pretty uneventful. They listened to the professor drone on about Kappas, their characteristics, where they were found, and how to defend yourself against them.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

After classes were over for the day and Madam Pommedeterr had caught Gwynn at last. Lauren waved goodbye to her friends and went to go visit Loni. She walked down the corridors to a portrait of a heard of unicorns. She reached up to the only unicorn with a golden horn and stroked its back. The portrait swung open, revealing a flight of stairs. Lauren walked up then and knocked on the door to Loni's room. She heard the lock click and the door opened. Loni let out a sigh of relief when she saw Lauren standing there. She moved out of the way letting Lauren in.

"Something wrong?" Lauren asked, stepping in.

"Yeah…" Loni said rubbing the back of her neck.

"What is it?"

"Every night, I have horrible dreams that I'm back in Voldemort's castle, and I'm being tortured, and every morning when I wake up, I hurt so much, I want to scream."

"All from a dream?"

"I don't think it's from the dream." Loni lifted the sleeve to her nightgown and showed her bruises running the length of her arm.

"Merlin!" Lauren shouted. "How is this happening?"

"I don't know… But will you stay here, tonight? Please?"

"Of course."

Lauren pulled up a chair next to Loni's bed and kept watch over her. She held on to her hand to keep her assured that she hadn't left. Loni fell asleep sometime around ten, and Lauren, sometime around midnight.

Over in a dark corner of the room sat a small mouse watching the two girls. The mouse transformed into a human. He stepped quietly over to the foot of the bed and stared silently at the seer and prophetess. He was suddenly startled when the prophetess' eyes blinked open. He jumped back while transforming into his animagus form. He landed on a desktop as the prophetess sat up in her bed. Lauren stirred and opened her eyes slightly. She lifted her head and saw Loni wide-awake. Or at least she thought at first. Loni's eyes were glowing an odd bright blue.

"Loni?" Lauren whispered. Loni's head whipped back, then looked straightforward, never blinking. Then in an odd voice, like another was speaking through her, she said:

The blackened shepherd herds his sheep

Spreading flocks all o'er the land

Conquering 'till none are left to weep

No tears are left to fall upon the sand

The sky hath switch its hues

As do the bulls and wren

But ne'er doth the hues be changed

Within the lion's den

The plague surrounds the dampened fort

Seeking entrance through the field

Its efforts hath remain unpleased

'Til the rats hath break the shield

The cave hath hold both stag and rose

Divided in body, united in soul

Each half shall be cut in two

But the sharpest blade shan't cut the whole

Petals of glass shall shatter then break

Last one fallen creates the shield

Murder's heart destroyeth death

And love shall be the power wield

The snake mark that had constricted her wrist flashed a bright green and dissolved into her skin. Loni's eyes rolled back and she fainted on to her pillow.

"Loni!" Lauren shouted, snapping out of her trance. Lauren shook her lightly. Loni opened her eyes and smacked Lauren's shoulder.

"It's three in the morning… What do you want?" she asked.

"You… you don't remember what just happened?"

"You woke me up, that's what."

Lauren stared at Loni, as she turned to her side and went back to sleep, wondering what had just happened and what all that meant. She was too busy to notice a small brown mouse slip out through a crack in the wall.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Later that morning, Lauren left Loni's room and went to Dumbledore's office. She didn't find him there, and decided to wait. She really wanted to talk to him about what had happened earlier to Loni. Lauren spotted Fawkes sitting on his normal perch, looking as radiant as ever.

"Hey Fawkes," Lauren said, walking over and stroking him on the head. "Do you know where the headmaster is?" The phoenix let out a small chirp and nuzzled Lauren's hand. "I'll take that as a no." Fawkes chirped again and flew out the window for his normal morning flight.

"Ah, Miss Fonseca, I've been wondering when I'd see you back in here," a cheerful voice said, breaking the silence, making Lauren jump. "Getting in trouble again? What have you done this time?" A smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

"Nothing Professor," she replied. "It's about Loni."

"Really?" he asked, becoming serious. "What is it?"

"Well, around three this morning, she suddenly woke up, but she didn't seem anything like her normal self. Her eyes were glowing blue. _Glowing, _professor. Then she began to speak in an odd voice."

"What did she say?"

"I don't know… It was something about a blackened shepherd herding his sheep and taking over, something about murder, and the power of love."

"Can you remember it more specifically?"

"No professor. Sorry."

"How about Loni?"

"No, she doesn't even know it happened."

"The prophecy…"

"You mean that was it? That useless bunch of rubbish?"

"Voldemort's probably heard it by now…" Dumbledore stood up and started to pace. "If only I had heard it!" Lauren watched him pace for a little bit before he realized she was still there. "Thank you, Miss Fonseca, you may go now." He sounded distracted, but she left anyway, leaving him to think. She walked down to the Great Hall to grab some food before she had to go to class. The hall was packed when she got there. She sat down in her normal seat with her friends.

The day progressed slowly for our heroes, but back at Voldemort's castle, he was having a field day. Sommers had brought the complete prophecy to his master. Voldemort had all his best decipherers working on the prophecy to find out what it meant.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

A few days had past, and a Death Eater approached Voldemort.

"Have you discovered it's meaning?" he inquired.

"Yes, My Lord…" the Death Eater said, nervously shifting his weight.

"Well?!"

"It tells of your downfall, after a great succession."

"What!? How?" Voldemort whipped out his wand and held it threateningly at the Death Eater.

"A stag and a rose, we believe they may be students at Hogwarts."

"Find out who they are! Send every animagus to that filthy school and don't come back till you know who!" Voldemort left the library and stormed down the hall, his robes billowing fiendishly behind him, cursing everything.

The Death Eater, still shaking from his encounter with Voldemort, ran off to find the animagi he knew of.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm so sorry!" was heard from the staircase leading up to the girls' dorms. A few people glanced over as a girl with blonde hair came down backwards apologizing to someone still walking down the stairs. The girl begging for forgiveness turned out to be Trisha McMillan.

"Say something!" Trisha said. Gwynn stepped into the common room playing with her hair with a look of shock on her face.

"It's so short…" she mumbled. Gwynn's once waist long black hair was now cut to just below her chin. Gwynn used her arms to cover her hair the best she could.

"I'm sorry Gwynn," said Trisha. "It's all Dana's fault! I swear!" Gwynn just nodded and walked past Trisha across the common room to where the Marauders, Lily, and Lauren were all seated. She sat down next to Lily and dropped her arms to her sides.

"Oh my god," Lauren said. Gwynn groaned and placed her hands back over her head.

"Who cut your hair?" Lily asked.

"Trisha," Gwynn said.

"Any shorter and you and I would be identical," Sirius teased.

"Shut it!" Gwynn snapped.

"I take it it's shorter than you wanted it?" James said.

"I wanted to have it cut like Newt Eye's* Jessica Gellar's new style," said Gwynn.

"Oh I love her new hair style!" said Lauren.

Gwynn shot Lauren a quick glare. "Trisha said she could cut my hair for me," explained Gwynn. "I trusted her. But, as she was cutting, Dana ran into her, making her hand slip. So now I have this! It looks horrible."

"I think it looks good on you," said Remus. "That is if you'd actually let us see it." Gwynn removed her hands rather reluctantly. "No, I was wrong—" Gwynn kicked him and covered her hair again.

"I'm going to the library now," she said, getting up.

"No," said Remus. "What I meant by 'I was wrong' was that it looks great."

"Really?" Gwynn asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Thanks." Gwynn blushed slightly and turn her head, which normally caused her hair to block her face from view.

"Ha ha! We can actually tell when you're embarrassed now!" Lauren said.

"Oh be quiet," Gwynn said sitting back down.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

It was a wonderful Friday afternoon, and the Marauders and the girls were sitting down by the lake either taunting or watching them taunt the Giant Squid. Mainly Sirius and James teased it. Occasionally Remus or one of the girls would join in, but Peter preferred to sit off on the sidelines watching the others dodge the tentacles. During one of the rounds in which Remus and James were the only ones, they thought they had won since the squid stopped grabbing for them and took the chance to do a victory dance. As they finished their dance, the squid grabbed them and pulled them under. The others screamed and ran to the edge of the lake. James and Remus appeared above water ten meters from shore about thirty seconds after being pulled under. After the initial shock of being grabbed by the Giant Squid and coughing their lungs out (not literally of course), they burst out laughing, although not to the amusement of their friends on shore. They swam back to shore where they were bombarded with questions regarding their physical and mental health. After it was established that they were fine, Gwynn hit Remus's shoulder.

"What's wrong with you?" she practically shouted.

"What?" Remus asked.

"You scared me half to death! You could have died!"

"I could've died too," James added, feeling left out.

"Yes, but you're like a cockroach and will never die," said Gwynn.

"She's right you know," Sirius agreed.

"You pull the same stunts as me you know!"

"And?"

"That makes you a cockroach too."

"Oh."

Lauren and Lily were too busy paying attention to James and Sirius argue over whether they had the right to be called cockroaches, with Peter's occasional comments, to pay any attention to Remus and Gwynn.

"I'm sorry," Remus said scratching the back of his head.

Gwynn glanced over at the others who were still discussing cockroaches. "It's ok."

Remus smirked when he spotted an open opportunity to cause trouble and grabbed Gwynn's hand and pulled her towards the lake. Gwynn shrieked and grabbed Remus for balance. But Gwynn was already heading towards the water when she grabbed Remus, causing him to lose his balance and fall with her.

Upon hearing the shriek and the splash, the others looked back towards Remus and Gwynn, who were sitting in the lake, soaked. Gwynn brushed her hair off her face and looked towards Remus who was grinning like a maniac. She blinked and pushed him back into the water. Remus reappeared sputtering. Gwynn wrung out her hair and stood up. She held out her hand to help him up, but he pulled her back down into the water.

"That wasn't funny," Gwynn said looking at Remus through the strands of hair that were plastered to her face.

"I thought it was," he replied getting up. Gwynn stood up and the two of them walked over to the others.

"You guys have been acting odd lately," Lauren said.

"Someone could mistake you two for a couple!" said James. Sirius scoffed at this remark. They looked at him with a questioning look.

"Come on, we're thirteen," said Sirius. "Like any of us would be thinking of dating."

"Please!" Lily said. "The other day I over heard you talking about asking Trisha out."

"Y-yeah, Sirius-s," stammered Peter.

"What is it Siri?" Gwynn asked. "Is Remus not good enough for your little sister?"

"You're just too young, okay?" Sirius replied. "And another thing, it's _Remus._"

"What's wrong with me?" asked Remus.

"And…?" Gwynn asked.

"Well...he's...strange...I mean, for some reason or another, someone in his family gets sick once a month...I mean, what if it's hereditary? Do you want kids that are prone to illness once a month? And I mean, he'll never be here...

"What if people in his family aren't getting sick? What if he has a girlfriend or something in another house? Or what if he joined a cult and wants to sacrifice you to his dead evil warlord to bring him back to life or something?

"Or... I mean, how do you expect him to support you? He's nearly failing Arithmancy! And besides, why would you want a guy that's failing stuff? That means he's not smart, and guys that aren't smart are never going to get a decent job that will put food on your table and will buy your kids diapers and stuff... You'll have to make them out of paper bags... I mean, do you want kids running around in paper bag diapers? 

"Or...or...or...I mean, look at him! He's a scrawny little thing! If there was an earthquake and the roof of your house started to cave in, how would he protect you? AND the babies in the paper bag diapers? Or... what if there was a volcanic eruption and he was holding one of the little babies and was running away and couldn't run fast enough and killed the baby? Do you want to live your life like that, with your guy killing your baby with the paper bag diaper?

"Or what if you get sick after the babies die from the volcano and he can't run to Alaska fast enough to get the only remedy for your illness and you die alone, a cold and shriveled old maid having been abandoned by Remus?

"Or... What if a Dark wizard came by the house to kill the babies in the paper bag diapers because it would kill some prophecy or another and he couldn't fight the Dark wizard and died and left you to either die or watch your paper bag diapered babies die before your eyes… and then you die?

"Or...or...or...or poison! What if he's grocery shopping one day and comes home with poison cabbages because he doesn't quite know how to tell poison cabbages from not-poison cabbages and you and the paper bag babies eat the poison cabbages and DIE?!?!?! and then he collects the insurance money and runs away to Vegas and meets one of the dancing girls..." By this time Sirius was walking in circles, waving his hands about while the others were seriously questioning his sanity.

"You put a lot of thought into this," Gwynn said, sticking her foot out. Sirius tripped, which stopped his relentless pacing.

"Hey Sir, thanks for making me feel good about myself," Remus said sarcastically. "You gave me this warm fuzzy feeling telling me someone actually cares enough to give me those compliments."

Sirius stood up, with a look saying he had something to add. "And what will he say when he finds out about your little 'secret'? Do you think that he'll like you any more? NO! You'll be alone and sad and furthermore, female werewolves live longer than average wizards....Why would you want to have a guy that would have to suffer the pain of watching die? Furthermore, what would he say about the little half-werewolf babies running around in paper bag diapers? How you think he's going to manage half-werewolf babies, let alone human babies! He's going to hate it! And he's going to abandon you and your little half-werewolf kids and run away to Vegas and watch more dancing girls..." Lily, Peter, and James gasped looking at Gwynn in shock, while Remus and Lauren groaned and shook their heads. Sirius stopped when he realized what he had just said.

"You jerk! Stupid tosser! You were supposed to keep it a secret!" she shouted. "You PROMISED! Why don't you go tell the rest of the school, huh!? I'm sure they'd **love **to know! Because, hell! What could make my stay at Hogwarts better than having the whole school avoid me?!"

"I'm sorry…" he said. "It slipped…"

"I. Don't. Care. You are a complete arse for telling them!" Gwynn turned and ran towards the castle.

"Remus, go comfort her," Lauren said looking to where he was standing but saw him walking up towards the castle already.

"Two steps ahead of you," he replied, and continued up towards the castle.

"Sirius, you couldn't just stop could you?" Lauren asked. "You know how touchy she is about that! You just had to play big brother, didn't you?"

"Gw-Gwynn's a w-werew-wolf?" Peter stuttered.

"Yes Peter," Lauren said, calming herself. "Ever since last year."

"Why didn't she tell us?" Lily asked. "Why do you know?"

Lauren explained everything.

****

+*+*+*+*+

When Remus finally caught up to Gwynn, she had shut and locked the door to her dorm. He knocked and waited for a reply.

"Go away!" he heard.

"Gwynn, it's Remus, open up," he said. He heard silence from inside. He was about to ask her again when he heard the lock click. Remus opened the door and walked in. He went over to the only bed that had its hangings closed. He pulled back the hangings and saw Gwynn hiding beneath the sheets of her bed. Remus sat down on her bed.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No!" came Gwynn's muffled reply.

"Sirius said it was an accident."

"He meant to do it!"

"No he didn't."  
  
"How can you side with him?"

"I'm not taking his side."

"Yes you are."

"Well, Gwynn tell me this, weren't you going to tell them anyway?" No reply came. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, if they can't accept you for what you are, screw them! You don't need them then. They're not your true friends then."

"Still, I can't face them."

"Yes you can. Come on, out from under there."

"No." Remus shook her shoulder. "Nooooo." Remus got up and lifted part of the blanket and looked under.

"Come on out," he said. Gwynn sat up and removed the sheets from over her. "I'm sure Lauren has explained everything to Lily, James, and Peter and that they're fine with it. Clean yourself up and meet me in the common room. We'll go get some dinner." Gwynn nodded and walked over to the bathroom while Remus walked down to the common room.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Saturday was the second Hogsmeade trip and nearly everyone above third year went, though some of the older students didn't go since Hogsmeade had lost it's flare over the years. The day was spent wandering the streets, visiting shops like Zonko's and Honeydukes. A must stop was at the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.

Upon returning later that night, the girls headed straight up for their dorm to hide the candy they had bought from Honeydukes from the guys, who had spent all the money they brought on pranks from Zonko's, and had been eyeing the candy for nearly the whole day.

"Come on! Give us some!" James pleaded.

"Have pity!" Sirius said.

"Oi, it's your fault that that you spent all you money on pranks," said Lauren.

"So we don't have to pity you," added Gwynn.

"B-but—" Peter started to stutter, but was cut off by Lily.

"Uh uh. We show no mercy!" The girls ran up to their dorm, shutting and locking the door. Lauren and Lily began to dig through their trunks to hide their sweets, while Gwynn dropped the bag on top of her trunk and continued walking to the head of her bed. A smile grew on her face as she got a closer looked at what was placed upon her pillow; a bouquet of tiger lilies, her favorite flowers. They were charmed to glitter, and when she smelled them, they smelled exactly like honeysuckle. She noticed a card that had been sitting beneath the bouquet. She set the flowers down carefully on her nightstand and opened the envelope.

+*+*+

All these years spent with you,

Seeing you every day,

Every one a blessing in disguise.

Seeing every one of your smiles,

The adventurous flare in you eyes,

And hearing every giggle from you.

I've finally realized how I feel.

All it took were your tears,

Left unshed for all these years,

And the pain it caused me

To see you that way.

My heart is yours

From now until forever

+*+*+

She pressed her hand to her mouth and reread the poem. She flipped it over to see if the author had signed it on the back (even though she believed she knew who it was) and found something written.

+*+*+

A little cliché I know, but it gets the point across, doesn't it? Meet me up in the Astronomy Tower tonight at eight.

+*+*+

Gwynn set the letter in her nightstand drawer and changed a quill into a vase with water to set the flowers in.

"Hey guys, what time is it?" Gwynn asked, looking over towards Lily and Lauren.

"About 7:50," replied Lily.

"Why?" asked Lauren.

"No reason," said Gwynn, before leaving the dorm, practically skipping.

"What's got into her?" Lauren said.

"Don't know," answered Lily.

+*+*+*+*+

Gwynn hurried down the corridors to the Astronomy tower. She narrowly missed tripping over Alexis (the caretaker's cat) at least once or twice. She slowed when she reached the stairs that lead up to the astronomy and walked up the stairs, not wanting to seem overly zealous. Then it hit her, what if it wasn't who she was hoping it was? It could be a few guys she knew. Gwynn continued up the stairs, the suspense of who it could be was killing her.

She finally reached the top of the tower, and opened the door. There, out of the balcony across the room, was a dark figure silhouetted against the moonlight. The figure turned around when he heard the door shut.

"You came," he said.

"You were afraid I wouldn't?" Gwynn asked walking towards him.

"Kind of," he replied rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought you'd find my little confession a little, well, frightening."

"No, it was sweet, and I feel the exact same way. You're giving me your heart, and I want to give you mine in return, Remus." Gwynn reached out and took Remus's hand, squeezing it slightly, and Remus pulled her in to a tight embrace.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	18. You Know This Makes Him The Smartest

****

Sweet Misery

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The next few days passed uneventfully till September twenty-ninth, which happened to be Sirius' and Gwynn's thirteenth birthday. Lily, Gwynn, and Lauren accompanied the guys down to the Quidditch pitch to watch them and the rest of the team practice. Remus, James, and Sirius had all made the team when the year began. James and Sirius both became chasers, while Remus took over the position of seeker. Gwynn had also tried out, but had lost to the seventh year, Tristan Henson.

When they reached the pitch, the rest of the team hadn't arrived yet. James, Remus, and Sirius went to go get changed into their uniforms, while the others walked up to the bleachers to take a seat.

Remus was the first out and flew across the field, landing in the bleachers next to Gwynn. He gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Happy birthday," he said.

"Thank you," replied Gwynn.

"I got you something, I hope you like it." He reached into his pocket.

She was going to say, "You didn't have to," but stopped halfway through the sentence when she saw the necklace he pulled out. It was a glass dragon-shaped pendant, filled with what seemed like scarlet flames, on a gold chain.

"I take it you like it," he said, grinning.

"It's beautiful," she said.

Remus moved behind her and slipped it around her neck. Gwynn lifted up her hair as he fastened it.

"It's warm..." she said lifting the pendant to get a better look at it.

"Well," Remus started, returning to his seat next to her, "that's because inside that pendant are the flames of an Antipodean Opaleye. It's said to be the most beautiful dragon, but I don't think that its beauty can ever compare to yours."

"You are so sweet. I love you." She leaned over and kissed him.

"Lupin, stop snogging your girlfriend and get your arse out here!" shouted the team captain and star beater, Cath Cayncsclis.

Gwynn and Remus parted. He grabbed his broom and flew out to where the rest of the team was.

****

+*+*+*+*+

"You're dating Remus?" Lily asked once he was out of earshot.

"Yup," Gwynn sighed. "Isn't he the sweetest?"

"Wow," stated Lauren. "I didn't see this coming. You know, for a seer, I really suck."

"Oh no you don't," replied Lily and Gwynn.

"I just kept the links out of your reach," said Gwynn.

"Oh you suck!" pouted Lauren.

"I don't care if you want to practice your abilities, when I have something private, I'll keep it private."

****

+*+*+*+*+

Remus landed down on the field next to James and Sirius, grinning widely. Cath began to talk to the team about her strategy for their next game against Ravenclaw.

"You've got guts man," whispered James out of the corner of his mouth.

"Hmm?" Remus asked, looking forward as if he was listening to Cath.

"Sir is going to kill you when he finds out."

"So let him find out."

"Let who find out what?" Sirius asked, joining the conversation.

"No one, nothing," replied James, before Remus could say anything.

"Are you guys up for it?" Cath said to her less than invigorated team.

"Yeah," most replied with the exception of the other beater who shouted, "Fo' shizzle and a half!"

"Right, Riley." Cath said, rolling her eyes. "Now I want everyone up in the air practicing the moves I just discussed."

"I guess we should have been paying attention," said Remus, before kicking off. When everyone was in the air and taking their normal warm up lap around the stadium, Sirius caught up with Remus.

"So who is it, Lily or Lauren?" Sirius asked.

"What?" Remus said.

"Your girlfriend."

"Ah. She's the best… With her great personality, her wonderful laugh, that stunning smile, her incredible silver eyes…"

Something triggered in Sirius' mind, neither Lauren nor Lily had silver eyes, but Gwynn did. He split up from Remus when Cath told them to take their places. Cath landed next to the box that held the Quidditch balls and released the bludgers and snitch, and tossed the quaffle to James. While practicing the reverse pass, James tossed the quaffle over his shoulder to Sirius. Sirius caught it, but instead of passing it to Tristan, he whipped it at a passing Remus. The quaffle hit the tail of Remus's broom sending him off course for a moment. Sirius quickly retrieved the quaffle and took another shot at Remus, this time aiming for the head. Remus just barely dodged it.

"Black, what are you doing?" Cath shouted, knocking a bludger away from her.

"Target practice!" he yelled back, hitting Remus's shoulder.

"Quick screwing around and get back to practicing!" Sirius didn't listen and continued his pursuit of Remus, who was speeding down the Quidditch pitch varying his path to give Sirius a harder target.

"Sirius, stop!" Gwynn shouted, jumping up from her seat in the stands. Sirius didn't seem to hear her. Gwynn ran down from the stands and out on to the field. "Sirius! Leave him alone!" She looked around for a broom to go up and stop him and saw that some of the team members had landed to avoid being hit by Sirius. She ran over and took a broom from one of them telling them she'd return it. She flew directly towards Remus. He had just been hit again. As Sirius geared up for another shot; Gwynn stopped directly in his intended path.

"Sirius, stop," she said.

"Move Gwynn," he growled. "Let me knock him off his broom."

"You'll have to knock me off my broom first! You dare hurt him, and I swear you will regret the day you ever, **EVER** thought you could control my dating life."

Sirius lowered the quaffle and dropped it. Cath caught it and declared that practice was over. Gwynn landed and handed the broom over to the guy she had borrowed it from.

After Remus had changed out of his uniform and left the locker room, Gwynn hugged him and said, "I'm sorry about him…" She felt Remus flinch. She pulled back, "What is it?"

"I think it's a bruise," Remus replied.

"Sirius is so dead…"

"Oh they're not that bad."

"Let me see." Gwynn reached for Remus, but he jumped away, but Gwynn managed to get his robes.

"I'm fine!" Remus shouted dodging Gwynn.

"Take off your sweater!" Gwynn jumped on to his back as he tried to run away and started to pull up his sweater. Remus reached back and started to tickle Gwynn. She shrieked and dropped down to the ground. She burst into laughter as Remus continued to tickle her.

"Stop!" she cried through her laughter.

"Will you let me be on the bruise thing?" Remus asked.

"Yes! Just st-o-op!"

Remus stopped and stood up letting her catch her breath. She sat up and Remus grabbed his robes.

"You are cruel," she said.

"And you're so cute when you laugh," replied Remus, tapping her nose. She smiled and got off the ground, dusting herself off.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

The next day, on their way to class, Lily's bag ripped, spilling her books, parchment, quills, and ink over the corridor. Lily told everyone to get to class and started to clean up everything. Peter, who had fallen behind the rest of the group, stopped to help. Once everything was cleaned up and placed back into Lily's newly repaired bag, the bell rang.

"Come on Peter!" Lily said, grabbing Peter's hand and practically dragging him to class.

"L-lily, sl-slow d-down!" Peter said.

****

+*+*+*+*+

At the end of that week, Voldemort called all his animagus back to report what they had found. Most replied that they had come up with nothing, not knowing who could possibly be this 'red flower'. One, who had been on the original deciphering team, proudly announced he knew who it was and had a perfect person to have be a spy.

"Really, who?" Voldemort asked.

"A girl with red hair named Lily Evans, My Lord," he replied. "She fits nicely."

"Are you positive?"

"Yes, My Lord. It has to be her."

"What about the 'stag'?"

"Nothing My Lord, but if we can get rid of this Lily girl, you won't have to worry about the stag at all."

"And this 'spy'?"

"He'll be so frightened of dying, he'll have no choice but to join us."

There was a long pause from Voldemort. The Deatheater gulped fearing the dark lord wouldn't agree with his idea and torture him.

"Bring him to me," Voldemort said. The Deatheater nodded and left.

He returned a day later with a boy who had been knocked out. He set the limp boy down on the ground and revived him when Voldemort arrived. The boy grabbed his head and groaned in pain, but gasped when he saw his surroundings. He shook with terror as he looked around at the cloaked figures.

"What is your name boy?" Voldemort hissed, the flames of the fire behind him casting a red glare into his eyes. Peter sat frozen, unable to find his voice. "WELL?!"

"P-P-P-Peter P-P-Pet-t-t-tigrew." He stuttered.

"Well, Pettigrew, I have a job for you." Voldemort began to pace around Peter. "No objecting now… It's either helping me, or suffering till I feel like killing you." Peter's eyes widened as they followed Voldemort. "I'm assuming you are going to help us, am I correct?" Voldemort stopped and turned to Peter, who nodded feverishly. "Good. Your job is to be our eye in Hogwarts. I can't keep my animagus there forever. But there is only one person I need you to keep a close eye on. Lily Evans. You know her, don't you?"

"Y-yes, sir," stammered Peter, finding his voice.

"You will refer to me as Lord Voldemort or My Lord! Nothing else you insolent brat!"

"Y-yes M-my L-lord."

"Now, at the end of every month, you will return here with information about her, her friends, any thing relating to her. It is vital that you come every month. If you do well, I may just let you join my following. Now, Clarkson will take you back to Hogwarts. Oh, and Pettigrew, next time you speak with me, do not use that ridiculous stutter!" Peter nodded again. Clarkson grabbed Peter's arm and apparated to just outside of Hogwarts.

"Don't fail Lord Voldemort," Clarkson growled shoving Peter into the gate of Hogwarts.

"I won't sir," replied Peter. Clarkson disapparated and Peter ran up to the castle.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Later that night, Sirius, James, and Peter were sitting around the fire working on homework, while Lily and Lauren were down in the library doing research for an Arithmancy paper. Sirius broke his quill, causing James and Peter to look up from their books.

"UGH!" Sirius shouted, throwing the broken quill into the fire.

"Still not okay about Gwynn and Remus, I take it?" James said.

"Sirius, you need to let it go," Peter said, shocking James and Sirius.

"Did you just get through a sentence with out stuttering?" asked Sirius.

"Wh-what? D-did I?"

"Spoke too soon…"replied James. "But Peter's right, Sir, you need to let it go."

"I just wish there was a way for me to keep an eye on them…" said Sirius. "I don't trust them on these nights."

"Why don't you do something about it then?" suggested James.

"Yes! That's a great idea! To the library!"

James and Peter blinked. Sirius never wanted to go to the library. By the time they realized that he was serious (absolutely no pun intended, that pun is way overdone), he was half way out of the common room. They shut their books and ran after him. When they reached the library, they found Sirius searching through the Transfiguration section.

"Do you have any idea what you're looking for?" James asked following Sirius down the stacks.

"Yes, a book," replied Sirius.

"O-on wh-what-t?" stammered Peter.

"Ani… ani-something," said Sirius. "It's what Professor McGonagall is."

"Animagi?" suggested James.

"Yeah, that's it."

"And you want to try to become one just to keep an eye on Gwynn?"

"That's right."

"D-do y-you know h-how h-hard it is t-to b-become on-ne?"

"Oh it can't be that hard."

James and Peter shook their heads as Sirius found a book and began to read up on animagi. After completing his research, he left for the common room with Peter and James close behind him.

"What we need now is a way to get into the Restricted Section," Sirius said. "We can't go during the day, the librarian will catch us, and at night, Filch will."

"Well, I have an invisibility cloak," said James.

"Since when?" asked Sirius.

"Since the summer," replied James, in an off-handed way.

"Let's use it then!"

"On-ne p-problem," said Peter.

"What?" James and Sirius said grabbing James's cloak.

"C-can't t-take th-the b-book out-t of th-the lib-brary," he replied.

"That's what duplication charms are for, Peter," Sirius said, throwing the cloak over himself. The door to the dormitory opened then closed.

"He knows the duplication charm? He ditched that day…" stated James.

"Y-you kn-know th-this m-makes him th-the s-smartest," said Peter.

"I want to cry, but there are no where near enough tears…"

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

__

A/n: I saw STOMP yesterday. 'Tis cool.

****

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+


	19. Evil Plots And Sexy Paper Clips

****

Sweet Misery

****

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Months had passed and Peter had reported to Voldemort as he was told, telling him everything he knew about Lily. Winter holidays had passed and in no time, the Easter holidays had arrived. Everyone's time was filled with completing homework and studying for their exams. For the Marauders, with the exception of Remus, were working on becoming animagi. Whenever Remus would stop by to see how they were, they'd hide all information regarding animagus. Remus was suspicious to how jumpy they were, but decided to leave them to whatever they were up to. They probably had good reasoning to leave him out. Oh how wrong he was. For the reasoning behind this scheme belonged entirely to Sirius, and everyone knew that couldn't be good. James and Peter were just going along because they needed something to do for a while.

One day near the end of the Easter holidays, Remus walked over to Gwynn and the other two girls and sat down next to Gwynn.

"Something wrong, Re?" Gwynn asked leaning on his shoulder.

"They're plotting something," he replied.

"What, those little pink bunnies again? I thought I told them to leave you alone!" Lauren joked. "They are going to get it this time!"

"James, Sirius, and Peter," Remus said.

"Oh, don't worry, they're always plotting something," said Lily.

"I think it's against me. They won't tell me anything, and they're always so jumpy when I walk by."

"I'm sure it's nothing," said Gwynn.

"I hope so."

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Exams came all too soon for everyone. Professor Turco kept a close eye on her potions classes to prevent another fiasco like last years. Transfiguration was pretty calm, but Charms is when things went down hill. Professor Flitwick came into his class to find his desk covered with muggle objects known as paper clips.

"What, may I ask," Flitwick said holding one of the paper clips, "are these doing on my desk?" As soon as the question was asked, the paper clips jumped up and began to sway.

"La la la la la la la… We seduce you with our sexy dance!" the paper clips sang in high-pitched voices. "La la la la la la la… You love us and we love you! La la la la la la la… You cannot resist the sexy dance! La la la la la la la… We swish and sway and jump and twirl!" By then, the class was laughing and Professor Flitwick cast a quick spell to stop the paper clips. They all dropped down to the desk. Flitwick then began to detach the ones that had slipped on to his sleeves and hat.

"Quite amusing," he said, sounding more annoyed than amused. "Black, Potter, Pettigrew, and Lupin, I suspect."

"Huh? We didn't do that," said Sirius.

"Well then, Mr. Black, who did?"

"Ask them." Sirius pointed to Lily, Gwynn, Lauren, and Remus, who were all huddled around an Advanced Charms book they had borrowed from the Library. They looked up and saw the professor looking directly at them. Lily, who was holding the book, shut it rather quickly and the others moved to their seats.

"Do you four know anything about these paper clips?" Flitwick asked.

"No sir," Lauren said, shaking her head. "We were reading up on…"

"Harder levitation spells," finished Lily.

"Besides," said Remus; "we would never disturb a class just to pull a silly little prank."

"Especially not in our favorite class, Charms," added Gwynn.

"If you must blame someone, blame them," said Lauren, pointing back at Sirius, James, and Peter. "They always try to pass the blame on someone else. They just don't seem to want to get in trouble any more… They must be growing up."

"Boys, I'm afraid I must take twenty points from Gryffindor," said Flitwick. "I'm not going to give you detentions though. Now on to our final exams…"

****

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The students were grateful when the final day of school arrived. The Entrance Hall was filled with the shouts and laughter of the students as they waited for the carriages to arrive. When they arrived, everyone quickly boarded them to head down to the train. From the carriages, they moved aboard the train.

The Marauders and the girls took a seat in an empty compartment, relieved that summer arrived. Most of the train ride was uneventful. Gwynn was fast asleep on Remus's lap and he was stroking her hair, while Sirius was glaring at him, not about to let his grudge go. Lily, Lauren, James, and Peter were sitting on the ground playing Exploding Snap.

When the conductor announced they were five minutes from Kings Cross Station, Remus lightly shook Gwynn's shoulder, waking her up. The train pulled to a stop and they all got up. They grabbed their trunks and followed the other students on the train out on to the platform.

"Your parents are picking us up, right Lil?" said Lauren as they waited for their chance to leave the platform.

"With luck," Lily said. "My mum told me that we may have to take cabs."

"Why?" asked Sirius.

"Well, Mum wasn't sure if she'd be back from taking Petunia to Choir Camp—poor souls—and Dad said that he's had a lot more work lately."

The rest of the group nodded. They were getting ready to walk through the barrier when someone surprised Remus by jumping and pulling him into and headlock before letting him go.

"Chase…" Remus growled.

"Hiya Remo!" Chase said, grinning widely. "Hey Gwynn!"

"Hey Chase," replied Gwynn. Chase put up his fists as if to fight and Gwynn followed. They took a few fake punches at each other before Gwynn reached out and messed up his hair.

"You win this round," he said, pressing down the stray hairs.

"And will win future rounds," said Gwynn, messing up his hair again.

"So Remo, rumor has it you've got a girlfriend."

"Your sources seem to be correct," said Remus, slipping his arm around Gwynn's waist. Chase stared blankly at Remus and Gwynn for a moment.

"Gwynn?" he said. "No way, she's to cool to be dating you! Are you sure it's not some one like her?" Chase pointed to Lily.

"Hey!" Lily shouted when she saw him pointing to her.

"I think I would know my own girlfriend," said Remus.

"I think we should get a move on to see if my parents came," said Lily. The group left platform 9 ¾ on their next quest, finding Lily's parents.

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A/n: Still inspired by the sexy dancing Microsoft Word paper clip office assistant.

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	20. Chapter 20

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Sweet Misery

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After hailing two taxis, cramming luggage into one and themselves into the other, they headed down to Lily's. Upon arriving, Lily paid the drivers with some money her mother had sent, just incase, while the others unloaded the trunks. The guys went with Remus to his house while the girls followed Lily to hers. Lily led them up to her house and dug a key out of her pockets. As she was about to put the key into the lock, the door flung open. There, in the doorway, was Lily's Aunt Kathleen. She scooped Lily up into a tight hug, catching her completely off guard.

"Hello Lillian!" she said. "It's been a long time!"

"Hi Aunt Kathleen," replied Lily in a breathless voice. **Please let me go!** Lily thought. Gwynn, the only one who hadn't changed out of her uniform was quickly pulling off her robe to hide the Gryffindor House emblem embroidered on it. Kathleen let released Lily, who immediately gasped for breath.

"Lillian, dear, who are your friends?" Kathleen asked looking over the group. Gwynn and Lauren were stuffing Gwynn's robe into her trunk.

"This," Lily said, catching her breath, "Gwynn and Lauren."

"Hi," they said taking a small step back, very scared that she was going to hug them, too.

"I would love to stay and chat," said Kathleen, "but I must be going, tell your mother I'm sorry I have to leave, but I simply must go and pick up your cousin Angela from the train station. It was wonderful to finally meet some of Lillian's friends."

"Bye Aunt Kathleen," replied Lily, forcing a smile.

"You're so cute when you smile," Kathleen said, pinching one of Lily's cheeks. Once Kathleen was gone, Lily's 'smile' was replaced with a look of disgust.

"I hate that woman," she said, leading the way inside.

"Lillian, dear, how about a hug?" Gwynn said, stretching her arms out.

"You're so cute when you smile, Lillian!" cried Lauren, reaching out to pinch her cheeks.

"Quit it," snapped Lily.

"Touchy," said Lauren.

"Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn were all staying in Lily's room. They all dropped off their stuff in the rooms before heading back down to grab something to eat.

****

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The summer was pretty much their average summer, except for James and Sirius who normally spent this time working on their quidditch skills. This summer was rather enjoyable for the ones who hadn't grown up around muggle appliances. Lily and Remus both found this quiet amusing watching them get excited over a simple thing like the microwave.

"Amazing how muggles cope without magic…" Lauren said, after they had discovered the television.

"Kind of makes me wish I stayed awake during Muggle Studies," commented James. Sirius and Peter agreed.

"How you three pass the finals is beyond me," said Gwynn, shaking her head.

****

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Sirius and James were walking around Remus's house looking for him, curious if he had anything that he could use to pull a prank on the girls.

"We should've found him by now," James said.

"You looking for Remus?" Chase, who seemed to pop up out of nowhere, said from behind them.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are," replied Sirius.

"He's out back with Gwynn," said Chase before walking off do begin a round of teasing Peter, which had become his favorite past time. Sirius looked out one of the back windows and saw the two of them sitting under the shade of a tree in the backyard. Gwynn was fast asleep in Remus's arms with a small smile on her face. Remus gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head. Gwynn stirred a little and moved closer to Remus.

"This is perfect," Gwynn whispered, her eyes still closed. "I don't want it to end."

"Neither do I," replied Remus, holding her a little tighter.

"Do you think they're breaking up?" Sirius asked glaring out the window.

"If they are, they're both taking it **very** well," said James. "Why are you so upset about Remus dating Gwynn? They're happy together."

"They may seem happy now, but soon he'll find someone he thinks is better and he'll break her heart."

"You don't know that."

"It's standard teenage behavior."

"Right…"

****

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"Come on in," Remus said opening the front door one night. He took Gwynn's hand and led her in.

"Wait, where are you two going?" Sirius asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"We're just running down to a motel not too far away so no one can disturb us while we go have a quick shag," Gwynn said. Sirius's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Oh honestly! We're just heading down to the basement so none of you are bitten."

"Why can't you use Lily's basement?" inquired Sirius.

"One, she doesn't have a basement," replied Gwynn. "And two, if she did, it wouldn't be properly reinforced, putting all of you in danger."

"Wonderfully explained," said Remus.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"We'll see you all tomorrow," Gwynn said waving to all of them, then Remus added: "If we're not shagging each other senseless then."

Sirius nearly leapt out of his chair at them, but James stopped him, letting Remus and Gwynn run down to the basement locking the door quickly.

"Easy, Sir," James said pulling him back into his seat.

"They just sound so serious," Sirius said, still glaring at the door.

"I-it's all-l ap-part of th-the act-t," stuttered Peter.

"Come on, we've got work to do," Sirius said getting up and heading towards the stairs. James and Peter followed.

****

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James, Sirius, and Peter spent a lot of time huddled around a book, which frightened the others beyond belief. They were never known to sit quietly for over an hour.

"You three okay?" Gwynn asked one day.

"Yes, we're fine, let us get back to our work," Sirius said.

"What are you guys working on?" Lauren asked them.

"Plans for world domination," replied James.

Lily, Lauren, Gwynn, and Remus rolled their eyes.

"I wonder what they're really doing," said Lily.

"I don't know… I wouldn't put world domination against them, they are rather ambitious boys," stated Lauren.

"So put them in Slytherin, they still won't take over the world," Gwynn said.

"Too true," agreed Remus. "But just incase… prepare the fallout shelter. You never know…"

"We'll get it out of them," said Lauren. She called over to the boys, "OY! Siri, Jamsie, Pete, what are you working on?" They didn't answer.

"That's odd," commented Lily.

"Sirius," Remus said. He didn't reply, he looked deeply intrigued by something in the book. "Sirius." Still he said nothing. He looked at the girls and shrugged.

"Sirius," Gwynn said giving it a shot. "Sirius!" Even James and Peter were confused by his sudden interest in the book. Gwynn sighed. "Sirius, I'm pregnant."

"Yeah okay." Sirius mumbled, not quite taking in what she had said till a second later. "WHAT?!"

"Oh good you're okay!" Gwynn cheered. "By the way, I was kidding."

"I sure hope so…" said Lily. She and Lauren were both wide eyed.

"Honestly! You guys think I would do something so stupid?"

"You are quite unpredictable," Remus replied, kind of pale.

"You're taking their side?" Gwynn asked.

"No, I was just saying."

"Why are you so pale?" Gwynn was right in his face now. "You don't honestly think that!"

"Well, half the time I can't remember what I did during my transformations…"

"Well, we didn't."

"Oh good."

Sirius looked about ready to kill. Gwynn and Remus backed away from the table where he was.

"I'll be right back," announced Lauren. She returned a moment later with a large punch bowl filled with water. She walked behind Sirius and dumped it on his head.

"What was that for?" Sirius shouted, jumping up. He was drenched with ice cold water.

"I thought that'd cool you down," she replied. "And it also gave Gwynn and Remus to get a good head start before you go chasing after them." Sirius looked up. Remus and Gwynn were already out the back door.

"Come back here!" he shouted running after them. Lily sighed.

"I-I kn-know, wh-why c-can't Sirius j-just accept-t th-the fact-t th-that G-Gwynn and-d Remus a-are g-going out-t," asked Peter.

"No, my mum's not going to be too happy about all this water in the carpet," replied Lily.

"Oh, sorry," Lauren said, still holding the punch bowl.

"Come on, let's go get some towels before my mum gets home," said Lily, walking up to the linen closet. Lauren followed, setting the bowl on the counter as she passed it.

Sirius's shouts could be heard as he chased Remus and Gwynn around the block.

"Fifteen sickles says that Gwynn and Remus think they escaped but Sirius proves too clever for them," Lauren said, returning with Lily and a bunch of towels.

"No way, that wouldn't happen," replied James.

"I'm going with Lauren on this one," said Lily.

"S-so, G-Gwynn and R-Remus esc-cape, y-you owe us-s f-fifteen s-sickles," stuttered Peter.

"But if Sirius catches them, you owe us fifteen sickles," added Lauren. They all shook and ran to the front window to watch. They were no where to be seen.

"Where are they?" Lily asked. As if summoned by her question, Remus and Gwynn came jumping over the fence of Lily's neighbors across the street. They ran across the street and to the side of Lily's house. Hurried footsteps were soon heard from above them. None of the group noticed Sirius running across the street.

"They took the ladder," stated Lily.

"The ladder?" the others asked.

"Yeah, there's this ladder that's always kept on the side of the house," explained Lily. "Remus and I use it to enter each other's houses."

Before they could inquire further, Remus and Gwynn came down the stairs and found the others by the front window.

"Did he come?" Gwynn asked looking out the window.

"W-we h-haven't s-seen h-him y-yet," replied Peter. They all looked back out the window while Lauren counted down, "Three… two… one…"

"Gotcha," a voice said from behind them causing them all (with the exception of Lauren) to jump.

"How'd you get in?" Gwynn asked, curious to the lack of footsteps.

"I used the back door," Sirius said, arms crossed across his chest.

"Pay up, boys!" Lauren said.

Peter and James both handed over fifteen sickles.

"It always helps to be on the seer's side," Lily said, both her and Lauren grinning wickedly.

"Seer?" James said, his jaw dropping.

"Th-that's n-no f-fair!" stammered Peter.

"Too bad, you agreed to the bet," said Lauren.

"But we didn't know!" complained James.

"Does it look like we care?" Lily asked, sticking the sickles into her pocket.

"Y-you ch-cheated!" shouted Peter. "I-it w-wasn't-t f-f-fair odd-ds!"

"Give us our sickles back!" James said holding out his hand.

"Time to hide?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, I do believe so," replied Lily. The two of them ran up the stairs and into Lily's room, barricading the door, keeping James and Peter out. Gwynn, Sirius, and Remus stood confused in the front hall. They forgot about what they were fighting about and went to find out more about what was going on between the others.

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"Hey, what's this?" James asked when Remus, Sirius, Peter, and him were going through the garage looking for anything to cause trouble with.

"That is a squirt gun," said Remus.

"What does it do?" Sirius asked.

"Here, give it," Remus said. James handed over the squirt gun and Remus took it inside to the kitchen followed by the others. He unscrewed a cap on top of the gun and filled it with water. He quickly pumps it up and aims it at Sirius. He pulls the trigger and nails Sirius. "That's what it does."

"You know, I've just gotten an idea," said Sirius. "Do you have any more of those?"

"Most likely," replied Remus. Remus went out to the garage and returned a minute or two later with three more squirt guns. Sirius told his idea to them all and they agreed that it was a great plan.

They had all taken their positions and waited patiently. Sirius was up in a tree, James in another tree, Remus behind a bush, and Peter behind a fence. They hadn't been waiting long when their targets came out. Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn all came out the back door of Lily's home wearing bathing suits and carrying towels. The guys figured they had just come out to go tanning. Watching the girls walk across the lawn, Remus spotted something and tried to point it out to the other marauders without being seen. He pointed to the girls then to his squirt gun. The others didn't seem to get it. Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius was about to give the call to fire when Lily shouted, "NOW!" Hidden beneath their towels were their own squirt guns and they began shooting at the Marauders. They quickly returned fire. Remus jumped from his hiding place and her and Gwynn aimed at each other. Gwynn gave a quick nod and she turned on Lily and Lauren while Remus began shooting at the other Marauders.

"You double-crosser!" Sirius shouted.

"Who do you think tipped of the girls about you guys getting a hold of squirt guns?" Remus shouted back. While attacking Peter, Remus ran out of water. He dodged fire and made it to the garden hose on the side of the house. As he was refilling, he felt a squirt gun being held to the back of his head. He turned around and saw Gwynn standing there with her gun, grinning wickedly.

"The tips are greatly appreciated Remus," she said. "Just make sure you can trust your allies." She pulled the trigger, hitting him square between the eyes.

"And you should make sure your enemy is unarmed!" Remus pulled out an egg from his pocket.

"You wouldn't!"

"You betrayed me and now, you must suffer the consequences!" He smashed the egg on her head much to her surprised. Egg dripped down her face as she shook her head.

"I should've seen that coming," she said.

"Not as much as you should've seen this," said Lauren. She snatched the garden hose from Remus and began to spray them with it.

The fight continued for an hour and only ended when Lily's mother told them to stop wasting water.

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Summer quickly passed by. Nearly too fast for them. Before they knew it, they all had gotten their supply lists for their fourth year at Hogwarts.

"Oh great, the summer's over!" Lauren said, slamming her letter down.

"I know," said James. "Sirius only tried to kill Gwynn and Remus only four times!"

"Just four?" Sirius asked.

"Seems like so much more," said Gwynn. Remus agreed.

"That's because you were the ones he was trying to kill," explained Lily. "When do you guys want to head down to Diagon Alley?"

"H-how ab-bout t-tomorrow?" Peter asked.

"Fine with me," said Lauren.

"Same here," replied James.

"No problem with us," Gwynn and Remus said.

"Same here," said Sirius.

"Okay," Lily said. "We'll go tomorrow."

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That next day, Lily's mother took them to London. They went to Diagon Alley, while her mother went shopping in London.

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In about a week, they found themselves back in London at Kings Cross Station passing through the barrier to platform 9 3/4. The platform was filled with returning students and excited first years. The Marauders and the girls made their way through the crowds, narrowly avoiding rowdy kids, who thought it was a brilliant idea to play tag in the huge crowd. They loaded their luggage on to the train and went inside to find a compartment. A few minutes later, the train departed for Hogwarts, thus beginning their fourth year, but the final year for one of them.

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A/n: Sigh… I wish I had a scanner. I drew this fantastic picture of the part where Remus and Gwynn are sitting under the tree. That pic actually gave me the idea to include that part. The picture is complete and utter fluff and the best drawing I've done yet. I love it. ^_^

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	21. Chapter 21

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Sweet Misery

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"My Lord," a Deatheater said stepping into Voldemort's study.

"What is it O'Reilly?" Voldemort said, standing over a table.

"Me and the other Deatheaters were wondering when we are going to go after that Evans girl," she said. Voldemort looked over his shoulder at her. O'Reilly's courage seemed to falter. "It, it's just that, Pettigrew has brought us plenty of information, My Lord. We, we know her friends, family, what classes she takes, her enemies, everything My Lord."

"We're not going after her," Voldemort said.

"Wh-what? But I thought--"

"What you think is not important. Not to me at least."

"My Lord, will she not be the source of you destruction if you let her meet up with that 'stag'?"

"She will never meet that stag. She'll be dead long before then."

"What are your plans, My Lord?"

"She will die, but not by our hands." Voldemort walked over to O'Reilly. "Bring me Malfoy, Zambini, Parkinson, and Evett. I must discuss my plans with them."

"Yes My Lord." O'Reilly bowed and stepped out of the sitting room.

"Oh, and O'Reilly?" Voldemort said, calling her back.

"Yes My Lord?" said O'Reilly stepping back into the room.

"_Crucio_." O'Reilly screamed and fell to the ground, twitching in pain. "Don't ever question my way of doing things." He took the curse off her and she slowly got up. O'Reilly made her way down the corridor, balancing herself against the wall. Voldemort scowled and slammed the door to his study. He walked back over to the table and began looking over the pieces of parchment on it again. It wasn't long before Malfoy, Zambini, Parkinson, and Evett arrived at the study. They cautiously knocked on the door, fearing his foul mood would cause him to take his anger out on them.

"Come in!" Voldemort snapped. The four Deatheaters entered and waited for Voldemort to tell them why they were called for. It was nearly a minute before he spoke. "I have a job for you four."

"What ever it is, My Lord," said Malfoy, "we'll do it."

"Good," he replied. "We are going to get rid of that Evans girl who will destroy me and my empire if she ever meets that stag."

"When would you like us to kill her, My Lord?" Parkinson asked.

"Silence!" Voldemort shouted. "You won't be killing her. She will die, but not by a Deatheater's hand! Well, not directly that is. Pettigrew has been kind enough as to provide us with pictures of all of Evans' friends. Now, we are going to slowly push Evans over the edge. We are starting," Voldemort paused to pick up a picture from the table, "with her."

"Why her, My Lord?" Zambini asked, looking at the picture.

"_Crucio_! Do not question my plans, fool!" Voldemort shouted.

"My Lord," Malfoy said, ignoring Zambini's cries, "when would you like us to kill her?"

Voldemort released the curse from Zambini. "When she is alone, I don't want any witnesses."

"Of course My Lord," the four Deatheaters said.

"But lord, why send four?" Evett asked. "Surely one can take care of her."

"I don't want her to escape! One Deatheater hasn't seemed to work in the past, so I figure if I send a group, you won't let her escape. Now, go. I don't want any of you back here until she is dead, you hear me? If she escapes, then you'll all pay with your lives. I know you all have families, and it would leave them heartbroken to find out that you were dead, now wouldn't it?" The Deatheaters nodded. "Now, go and watch Hogsmeade. You won't be able to get her at that filthy school. Pettigrew will keep you posted on when you might have a possible chance."

"Yes, My Lord," they said bowing. The four of them apparated to the Inn in Hogsmeade. Voldemort set the picture of the girl back down on the table.

"It's so hard being a dark lord…" Voldemort said, rubbing his forehead.

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"It's so great to be back at Hogwarts," said Lauren, stretching out across a couch in the Gryffindor common room.

"You miss the wonderful atmosphere or something?" Lily asked.

"Nah," Lauren replied. "I missed being able to do magic."

"It makes pranks so much easier," Sirius said.

"Speaking of which," Remus said, "was that what you three were planning over the summer?"

Sirius, James, and Peter were silent for a moment. "Yes," replied James.

"You're lying," said Gwynn. "What were you really up to?"

"Nothing," Sirius said.

"Okay, you don't have to tell us," shrugged Gwynn. She yawned. "I think I'll head up to bed. 'Night guys." She kissed Remus on the cheek. "'Night Remus."

"'Night Gwynn," he said returning the kiss. Gwynn walked over to the stairs to the dormitories. She looked back as she approached the separate staircases to the boys and girls dorms. At the last moment, Gwynn ran up the stairs to the guys' dorms.

"Sh-she's g-going t-to our d-d-dorm!" Peter shouted. Sirius, James, and Peter all jumped up and ran after her. Lily, Lauren, and Remus quickly followed. When Sirius, James, and Peter reached the door to the Fourth year dorms, they found it locked. James whipped out his wand and pointed it at the lock.

"Alohomora!" he said. The lock clicked and he tried to open the door, but something was blocking it.

"Gwynn, open the door right now!" Sirius shouted. He heard something hitting the door from the inside. "GWYNN!"

"Hey Sirius," a voice said from inside.

"Brian? Open the door!" Sirius said.

"No can do, Gwynn says she'll hex me," replied Brian.

"Brian come on!" James said pounding on the door. Lauren, Lily, and Remus looked on in amusement. Sirius kicked the door. James stepped back a few steps and took a running start at the door, doing nothing but causing serious pain to his shoulder. James rubbed his shoulder, but took another run at it. Yet again, nothing.

"L-let's a-all t-try i-it," stuttered Peter. "O-on th-three. O-one, t-two, th-three!" The three of them rammed the door, knocking whatever or who ever was blocking it aside, and bursting the door open. Peter and James's things were scattered around, and most of Sirius's were, but Gwynn had stopped when she found what she believed to be what she was looking for. She turned to them holding a large book.

"Animagus?" she asked. Sirius snatched to book away from her. "You three are trying to become animagi? Don't you even trust me and Remus?" Her gaze flicked over to Brian. As calm as she could, she said, "Brian would you please leave for a moment?" He nodded and walked out past the rest of the group, who went in. When the door closed, Gwynn punched Sirius's shoulder as hard as she could.

"What's wrong with you?" she shouted at him. "Don't you trust us?"

"Not a bit," replied Sirius.

"Sirius," said Remus, striding over to Gwynn and him. "When we transform, we fight the urge to do anything we may regret."

"You tried to stop yourself from biting her," snapped Sirius, "didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Remus replied. "I never meant to hurt her!" The argument continued to drag on.

"You know, I think it's time to go," muttered James to the others. They nodded and quietly left.

"Fine!" Gwynn shouted, throwing the book at Sirius, who staggered back as he caught it. "Become an animagus! Keep a close eye on you poor baby sister! Never let her do anything that you could possibly disapprove of!" She stomped out of the dorm. Remus shot a glare at Sirius and went to go comfort her.

Slowly, the students began to head up to their dorms for the night. James and Peter entered the dorm to find Sirius slumped over the animagus book.

"Still going through with it?" James asked.

"I don't care what Gwynn or Remus says, I still don't trust them," replied Sirius. "You two can back out if you want."

"N-no w-way," said Peter.

"Yeah, if I leave it all to you, you could screw up royally," added James.

"Gee, thanks James," Sirius said. "Your encouragement means so much."

"I know," replied James, waving the comment away.

****

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"Lauren, you look terrible," Sirius commented one day at breakfast.

Lauren looked up from her plate of scrambled eggs. "What?" she asked, not hearing what he had said.

"You look terrible," he repeated.

"Oh, I haven't been sleeping well for the past few nights," Lauren replied.

"Bad dreams?" Gwynn asked.

"More or less," she said. "The same one over and over. It makes no sense what so ever!"

"Could it be one of those premonition dreams?" Lily asked, trying to be helpful.

"Maybe, if it is, I can't decipher it," she answered.

"We'll help," James said.

Lauren opened her mouth to tell them the dream but the bell rang signaling they had ten minutes to get to their first class.

"I'll tell you later," Lauren said, as they all gathered up their things. Remus, Lily, Gwynn, and Lauren went to Arithmancy, while James, Sirius, and Peter made their way to Muggle Studies.

Lauren never did get around to telling them about her dream. They were piled up with so much homework, that they all forgot about the dream entirely.

****

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Months passed and in no time flat, it was a week before the winter holidays. The Marauders and the girls were all staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Lauren, who was originally planning on heading home for the holidays, received an owl from her parents telling her they were off to Egypt for a business trip, but if she still wanted to leave for the holidays she could go and stay with her grandmother. Lauren automatically changed her mind and decided to stay. She did not want to spend the holidays with her Grandmother who refused to talk about anything but how much time has changed since she was Lauren's age. It was always pure torture.

****

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"How much longer will we have to stay in this god awful town?" Zambini said, pacing in the hotel room.

"Until we can get rid of that girl," replied Malfoy. "Quit pacing!" Zambini stopped and took a seat in a chair. "Parkinson, have you seen any sign they may be here?"

"None," Parkinson replied. Evett walked in, just having returned from the pub.

"Another night of nothing, I suspect," Evett said, flopping down on to a bed.

"You know my kids are expecting me home for Christmas this year," said Zambini. "Missing last year's made me a 'bad father'."

"I couldn't actually care less about your ranking as a father," Malfoy snapped. "What does matter is that our lord's empire depends on our success, our lives depend on our success. Who cares if your kids hate you? I sure don't, and I believe Evett and Parkinson don't care either! Quit your whining about you kids!"

"I have no kids," said Evett. "Thanks for reminding me that I'm still single."

"Shut up," Malfoy said. He got up and left the room to go out into town.

"I'm heading back down to the pub," announced Evett, getting up from his seat on the bed.

"Hold up," said Zambini. "I'm coming too."

"Parkinson, keep watch," Evett said as he opened the door.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," replied Parkinson, leaning back in his chair by the window. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

****

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__

A/n: Well, another chapter done. Voldie's so boring when he speaks isn't he?

::Voldie apparates in::

Voldie: What did you say?

Tori: You're boring when you talk.

Voldie: Oh am I? ::pulls out his wand:: AVARDA KADAVER--_ ::one of Tori's cats rubs against Voldie's legs:: EY!!_

::A frying pan materializes above Tori's head and starts to pound down on her head::

Tori: OW OW OW!

Voldie: Stupid cat! Go away!

Cat: Meow!

Announcer: Yes, thanks to Tori's cat, she has been saved from the wrath of Voldemort, and can continue to her story.

Tori: ::using all her strength to keep the frying pan from hitting her:: Next chapter will be out eventually--OW! I've got to add a few things, and check it about a--OW! Billion times. OW OW OW!! ::the frying pan disappears as Voldie disapparates.:: Oh thank god.

****

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	22. The End of A Life

****

Sweet Misery

****

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An owl tapped repeatedly on the window of Malfoy's room at the inn early one December morning. By an owl's standards, it was never too early to deliver a letter. Especially if the sender got up at five in the morning just to sneak up to the owlery.

"I'm coming, you ruddy owl," Malfoy mumbled, walking over to the window as he put on his bathrobe. He opened the window letting the owl and the frigid air in. The owl dropped the letter on the bed and flew right back out again. Malfoy picked up the letter and headed over to the fireplace. He sat down in the armchair next to the fire and opened the letter. A smirk grew as he read over the letter.

"Well done Pettigrew…" Malfoy said beneath his breath. "Well done." He crumpled up the letter and tossed it into the fire before changing into his robes.

****

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"Hey Lily!" Gwynn shouted, bursting into the near empty common room with Lauren close behind her. Lily looked up from her large pile of books, parchment, and quills.

"No I have not seen nor do I have your Arithmancy book," she said. "Please check with the information desk to see if they have confiscated any lost items. If they do not have your book, then just admit that you aren't responsible enough to own a book at this time. That is your problem, not ours."

"No, that's not what this—hey, how'd you know I was missing my Arithmancy book?" Gwynn asked.

"No reason," replied Lily, shifting some papers on the desk to cover a book.

"I'll want that back later, but anyway, we're heading out."

"Where?"

"The guys found a new secret passage to Hogsmeade, and we're heading out there, you wanna come?" Lauren asked.

"No, I really want to finish this essay," replied Lily, looking back at a thick book on Centaurs open in her lap.

"But it's the holidays! You more than enough time to finish it!" said Gwynn. She grabbed her wrists and tried to pull her out of her chair. "Come on!" She released Lily's arms and she fell back into her chair.

"I'm on a roll. I only have thirty more centimeters to go," Lily said, opening her book again and flipping to the page she had been on.

"Fine," stated Lauren. "We'll just have to stay with you so you won't be lonely. We don't have to go to Hogsmeade."

"No, go ahead. You don't have to be bored because of me. Go! Have fun!"

"Are you sure?" asked Gwynn.

"Yes," answered Lily. "Positive."

"Okay," said Lauren.

"Could you bring me back some chocolate frogs and a sugar quill?" Lily requested.

"Sure thing!" replied Lauren and Gwynn.

They left the common room and ran down to the third floor. They came to a statue of an old croon where the Marauders were waiting.

"Lily's not coming?" Remus asked.

"No, she wanted to finish her Care of Magical Creatures essay," replied Gwynn.

"She's working?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "Over the holidays?"

"If I knew she was working on her essay, I would've asked her to start mine!" James said.

"L-let's g-get g-going," squeaked Peter, eager to get to Hogsmeade for only one reason, and it wasn't to stock up on pranks for the rest of the school year.

Sirius pulled out his wand, tapped the statue's hump, and muttered "Dissendium." The statue's hump opened up to reveal a small hatch. "Come along now! Chop chop!" Sirius said, clapping his hands and ushering them into the passage. "One at a time now… no pushing." James gave Peter a small shove. Sirius automatically went into full-out kindergarten teacher mode. "James I mean it! Keep going now. James, what did I just finish saying about pushing?" Remus took Gwynn's hand and gave her a playful nip. "No biting! Stop it! Remus, I mean it! Don't put a spell on Remus, Gwynn!"

"But I wasn't—" Gwynn started, hiding her wand behind her back.

"No buts young lady and don't lie to me!" Sirius interrupted in a tone that could have rivaled that of Professor Turco's. "James stop pushing Peter! Hurry up Lauren, we haven't got all day!"

"Yes we do, actually," replied Lauren, who had just entered the passage.

"Don't talk back! Gwynn no! No casting spells on Remus! Don't do it! Quickly now, quickly! Remus, your turn. Peter, no! Don't hit James! James, I'm warning you, don't push Peter again! Go ahead Gwynn. Stop that! If you push Peter one more time, you are not coming to Hogsmeade! That goes for you too Peter! Do I make myself clear?"

To the relief of the others, Sirius finally stopped when they had all gotten into the passage.

"Did you enjoy that?" Gwynn asked.

"Tremendously," he replied.

"Well, as long as it was fun," she said, shrugging.

"Where in Hogsmeade does this one lead?" Lauren asked following closely behind Sirius.

"Not sure, all we know is that it leads to Hogsmeade," answered James, leading the way.

"How do you know it goes to Hogsmeade if you don't even know where in Hogsmeade?" Gwynn asked.

"A-a l-little b-birdie t-told us," said Peter.

"By 'birdie' he means Robin Conners, that seventh year who talks too loud for his own good," explained Remus.

"Oh, okay," replied Gwynn.

"You guys should really make a map with all these passages on it," suggested Lauren. "You know, so you guys don't forget."

"You mean so _you_ don't forget," corrected Sirius.

"No," replied Lauren. Then she added sheepishly, "So I can find them."

"Th-that m-map id-dea i-isn't h-half b-bad-d," said Peter.

"It could be used to keep the school full of little trouble makers," said James.

"And keep the memory of the Marauders alive in Hogwarts," added Remus. 

****

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After exiting Honeydukes, the Marauders, with the exception of Remus, immediately sped off towards Zonko's to blow their money on pointless tricks.

"Remus, you can go," Gwynn said letting go of his hand.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, go on," she replied. "Lauren will keep me company."

Remus gave her a quick kiss, then ran off to catch up to James, Sirius, and Peter.

"Meet us back here at three, sharp!" Gwynn shouted at the backs of the running guys.

Sirius turned and shouted back, "Quit acting like Mum, you stupid git! We don't need you to look after us! That's what Remus is here for!"

"Hey!" Remus said.

"That was rather rude," said Lauren commenting on Sirius's statement towards Gwynn, placing her hands on her hips and watching the retreating backs of the Marauders. Gwynn shook her head, and she and Lauren turned and started to walk to the Three Broomsticks to get some butterbeer.

"With some luck, there might be some cute guys at the Three Broomsticks," said Lauren.

"You do remember that I have a boyfriend," replied Gwynn.

"Remus won't have to know," Lauren said. "Besides, we'd only be flirting. You know, meaningless flirting?"

"Lauren…"

"Gwynn! It's just harmless flirting; you won't have to make out with anyone! Please? It won't hurt!"

"I'll go with you, but I won't flirt."

"Fine."

Lauren and Gwynn walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, occasionally stopping to look at things in the shop windows. When they reached the Three Broomsticks, Lauren instantly found the cutest guy there.

"Check him out!" Lauren whispered.

"I guess he's kind of cute," replied Gwynn.

"Kind of cute?! He's hot!" Lauren said.

"I'm going to get us some butterbeer."

"And I'll get us a table close to his." Gwynn rolled her eyes and got two butterbeers.

An hour later, Lauren was at the hot guy's table, leaving Gwynn alone. After finishing her third butterbeer, she tapped Lauren on the shoulder.

"I'm heading down to Honeydukes," she said, putting on her cloak.

"Okay, I'll be there in a half hour," replied Lauren, then turned back to the guy. "So, Greece, huh?"

Gwynn stepped out of the Three Broomsticks and on to the unusually silent street. It was never this calm right before Christmas. These streets were normally packed with people rushing around doing some last minute Christmas shopping. She pulled her cloak tight around her to keep warm. She took her time so she could admire to freshly fallen snow blanketing everything in sight. Gwynn pushed her hands deep into her pockets to keep them from freezing. She shuffled her feet through the snow leaving long trails behind her. She looked up at the clouded sky. Snow began to fall softly but swiftly. She smiled and thought, **Oh, how per-** Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran into someone.

"I'm sorry," said Gwynn, straightening out her robes. "Excuse me." She stepped to her right to go around the cloaked figure, but he stepped to his left and blocked her. She moved again, but he just moved to block her once more.

"Excuse me," Gwynn repeated. She tried once again to go around him, but he continued to refuse to let her pass. "Excuse you, but what is your problem?" Gwynn glared at him waiting for a reply. The hooded man said nothing and just stood in front of her. Gwynn sighed and turned on her heel to head the other way. She could find another was down to Honeydukes. But no sooner had she taken four steps, another hooded figure appeared out of a shop. Gwynn froze. She looked from the first person to the second. With a quick 'pop', another person hidden beneath a cloak appeared on her right. A fourth person stepping out of an alley on her left followed him. It suddenly hit her who these men were. They were Voldemort's followers… Deatheaters. The four Deatheaters began to advance on her. Gwynn didn't know what to do. Out of panic, she ran as fast as she could between two of the men, knocking them down. Adrenaline pumping, she sprinted towards Zonko's.

"Help me!" she screamed. She looked over her shoulder to see how far the men were behind her. She only saw two of them, but she was too frightened to wonder where the other two had gotten off to, just as long as she got away from the two following her. She dug into her pockets and pulled out her wand. She saw the Deatheaters follow it suit. "_Expelliarmus!_" Gwynn shouted. But instead of emitting a scarlet light, the wand fizzled for a moment. "_Expelliarmus!_" she shouted again, desperate for it to work. The wand fizzled again, but this time instead of the fizzling dying out, it exploded with a large scarlet flare. Gwynn's wand flew out of her hand and high into the air and the explosion knocked her in the opposite direction. She lied there for a moment, trying to comprehend what happened. She snapped to her senses when she heard the shouts of the Deatheaters ("Quick! Don't let her get away!"). She scrambled to her feet and saw Peter standing in front of her holding her wand, which had broken in half, only held together by the veela hair within it.

"Peter!" she shouted.

"Gwynn, what's wrong?" Peter asked with out his well-known stutter. Since escaping was the only thing on her mind at the moment, she didn't notice.

"Oh Peter," replied Gwynn, "thank Merlin! There are these two Deatheaters chasing me! We've got to go! They'll be here soon!" Gwynn started forward, but was pulled back by Peter.

"And that's a bad thing?" Peter questioned.

"Peter, what wrong with you?! They're Deatheaters, and they're after me for who knows what reason!"

"Maybe you have done something to anger them."

"Peter..."

The two Deatheaters who were following her caught up to them. Gwynn tried to free her arm from Peter's grasp, but he turned out to be much stronger than he appeared. The other two men, who had disappeared a while ago, reappeared out of an alleyway between two shops. They took Gwynn from Peter, each holding tightly on to her arms.

"Let go of me!" Gwynn shrieked, trying to kick them. "Someone help me!" **Why isn't anyone coming?** Gwynn thought looking around. She could see people through the shop windows but they didn't seem to care. "HELP ME!" One of the Deatheaters holding her covered her mouth.

"Man, she's annoying," he said.

"Good job Pettigrew," said the cloaked figure closest to Peter. "You'll make a fine Deatheater one day."

"Thank you sir," Peter replied, a small smirk on his face. Gwynn's eyes widened at this. She looked at Peter with complete shock. Peter? A Deatheater? Why would he do such a thing? The Deatheater who spoke grabbed Gwynn's chin and forced her to look at him.

"You have a choice," he said.

"What are you doing?" another Deatheater whispered to the first one, so Gwynn couldn't hear. "We're supposed to kill her."

"She could be some use to us," he muttered back.

"But Voldemort specifically said—"

The first Deatheater ignored him and returned his attention back to Gwynn. "The same choice as Pettigrew had. You can either join us and help bring the destruction of your dear friend, or you can die and still help us kill your friend. Either way, we win. There's nothing you can do. So why don't you just spare yourself and help us."

The Deatheater removed his hand from over her mouth. Gwynn shook from terror**. Who is he talking about?** Gwynn thought. Never the less, she couldn't—wouldn't help them by becoming a spy. The Deatheater pulled out his wand and held it against her chest.

"Well?" he growled.

She looked him directly in the eyes and replied, with more courage than she felt, "I will never betray my friends like **_he did!_**"

"If you insist," hissed the lead Deatheater. He turned and walked a few steps away before whipping around with his wand pointed directly at her. "Avarda Kadavera!" were the last words Gwynn heard before the flash of green light. The Deatheaters shoved her body into the alleyway. The four Deatheaters disapparated, while Peter ran to Honeydukes which was where he told the other Marauders he would be, dropping Gwynn's wand as he ran.

****

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Around three-thirty, James, Remus, and Sirius came to Honeydukes to find Peter and Lauren, but no Gwynn.

"Where is she?" Sirius said, fuming.

"She said she'd be here," Lauren said, looking at her watch.

"M-maybe she w-went b-back t-to th-the c-castle," suggested Peter in his all too familiar stutter.

"I know she wouldn't do that," snapped Sirius. "She'd be standing right here waiting to tell us off for being late."

"She's probably at the Three Broomsticks downing as much butterbeer as she can," said James.

"She could've headed back down there, I guess," Lauren said.

Sirius nodded, unable to shake this strange feeling he had. He couldn't describe it, but he knew something was horribly wrong.

The group walked down to the Three Broomsticks and saw no sign of Gwynn. On their way back to Honeydukes, Remus saw something lying in a small hole in the snow that seemed to have just melted away. He picked it up and his heart practically stopped when he realized what it was.

"What's up Remus?" Sirius asked.

"It's Gwynn's necklace," replied Remus. "The one I gave her for her birthday last year." Gwynn almost never took it off. They instantly knew something had happened to her when Remus showed them the necklace. The pendent was broken.

"Gwynn?!" they shouted hoping to god she'd answer. Peter didn't say a thing but made it look as if he was looking for her.

"Oh god..." James said suddenly.

Remus, Sirius, and Lauren looked over at him.

"What is it James?" Remus asked starting over towards him, with Sirius close behind.

"Stay there," commanded James. "You don't want to see this."

Remus and Sirius ran over to where James stood.

"No…" Remus said clapping his hand over his mouth and braced himself against the side of a building. Sirius stood rigged where he was. Lauren quickly walked over and nearly fainted when she got there. There laid Gwynn, face down in the snow. Sirius dropped to his knees next to her and rolled her over. Her brown eyes stared blankly at the sky.

"Gwynn?" he whispered, knowing the truth, but not wanting to believe it. James slowly stepped backwards, then ran off to get help. With much effort and pain, Remus tore his eyes away from Gwynn and slumped down crying. Lauren braced her self against the side of a building. Sirius grasped Gwynn's hands in his tightly, unable to cry. All he could do was stare horrified at Gwynn's body lying ridged in the snow.

His mind began flashing every memory he had of Gwynn. Most of them included them bickering or pulling pranks on each other. There were a few rare memories of Gwynn smiling and laughing when he was with her. Then came the last words he said to her echoing through his head.

"I can't believe those were my last words to her!" he shouted breaking the silence.

"Wh-what?" stuttered Peter.

" 'Quit acting like Mum, you stupid git! We don't need you to look after us!' " He said with much disdain. He pounded his fist into the ground then placed his head in one of his hands, sobbing, while he held tightly to Gwynn's hand with the other.

James returned shortly with an auror. The auror placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder.

"Son, I need you to back away," she said. Sirius didn't move. "Son, you need to back away." Sirius wiped his tears and slowly let go of Gwynn's hand, as if doing so would erase any and all memories he held within him. Sirius stood up slowly and stepped back. For the first time since he got there, Sirius tore his eyes away from Gwynn. He looked around at his friends. Remus was now standing back where he was and James had his face hidden by his hand.

****

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"My Lord," Evett said entering Voldemort's study.

"Have you brought me good news, Evett?" Voldemort asked.

"Yes, my lord," replied Evett. "She is dead."

"Good, I'm now one step closer to ruling this infested world."

"What do you wish of us now?"

"Just wait. The time has not come for the second part of my plan."

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	23. Chapter 23

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Sweet Misery

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**__**

The Daily Prophet

Thursday, December 24th, 1970

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Wand Backfire Kills Young Girl

Hogwarts fourth-year student Gwyneth Black was found dead yesterday, December 23rd, outside an alleyway next to Dervish and Bangs, a small utility store in the village of Hogsmeade by her twin brother, Sirius Black, and his friends. Found next to her body was a snapped wand, which was identified as hers. Ministry officials believe this wand which appeared to have backfired causing her death. Upon examination of the wand, it was discovered that it contained the hair of a veela, which upon recent studies have proven to make wands highly temperamental. The veela hair core makes these wands highly prone to malfunctioning over a certain amount of time (each differing from wand to wand). There have been several reports of veela haired wands backfiring, but this one the first case resulting in death.

Prophet reporter, Ali Meismer, spoke with Mr. Olivander, the top wand supplier of Britain. "It's a shame," says Olivander. "I just regret not finding out the damage those wands could do sooner." Olivander is facing charges pressed against him by previous customers who have bought wands containing veela hairs. A trial date is set for the first day of the new year.

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The mahogany casket reflected the dancing light of the candles that lit the church. Surrounding the casket were bouquets of lilies and roses. The only noise that could be heard was the footsteps of relatives and close friends as they took their seats. The occasional sob could be heard, but the rest of the tears that fell that day were silent. Everyone was dressed in their finest black robes and most with a handkerchief in their hand. Sick of being hugged and told that everything would be okay, Sirius sat in a small room just to the left of the entrance of the church. Slumped back in a chair, he hoped to God that all this was just some horrible dream and he'd wake up at any moment. The footsteps outside the room slowed leaving only the sound of his breathing. He only looked up when he heard the door slowly opening. Lauren stepped in, brushing some lose strands of her hair behind her ear. She stared intently at the ground as she closed the door. She gasped and stumbled back when she saw Sirius sitting there.

"I didn't think anyone was in here," she said softly, still backed against the door.

"It's just too much…" Sirius mumbled.

"I know, I couldn't stand to be out there much longer," agreed Lauren. "The service is starting soon though, and we'll have to head back out there."

"Seems like some nightmare, doesn't it?"

Lauren sighed deeply and walked over to Sirius. She knelt down next to his chair and took his hand. "Too much so," she replied. "Why her though? What has she ever done to deserve this?" She looked up into Sirius's eyes. They were dull, like all life had been drained out of them. He was beyond tears. Lauren rubbed his hand gently. She knew exactly how he felt; she too had lost a sibling. She looked back at the ground, still holding on to Sirius's hand. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks. Lauren bit her lip, fighting back sobs and closing her eyes to stop more tears from falling. She felt Sirius's warm touch brush her tears away. She turned her eyes up towards Sirius. He still had the same expression as before. She finished wiping her tears away and stood up, letting go of Sirius's hand.

"We should get out there, the service is going to start any minute," she said. Sirius just nodded and stood up. Sirius hurriedly tied his tie and fixed his robes. Lauren slowly reached up, feeling rather awkward, and brushed some of Sirius's hair off his face. It fell right back almost immediately. She smiled weakly and shrugged.

Sirius turned to her. "Why are you smiling?"

"Your hair," Lauren said. "Never has behaved, never will. Not even for this...even James gelled his hair."

"Gwynn..." Sirius said, staring straight ahead again, "she used to tease me about it when we were kids. She...she always bugged me to try to tame it for...for weddings and stuff..." Lauren could tell that he was trying very hard not to cry.

"Oh," she said awkwardly. "Oh Sirius, I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have brought it up..."

"It's okay, Lauren," he said, turning back to her. "You couldn't have known." Sirius ran his hand through his hair, dislodging more hair from his carefully combed back hair. He tried to get the back off his face, but Lauren stopped his hand.

"Don't," she said, lowering his hand. "It looks good that way."

There was a short pause between them. Sirius was the first to speak, "We should take our seats, the service is about to start." Lauren nodded and Sirius led the way out of the room. They made their way to the row of seats where Peter, Lily, James, and Remus were seated. The two of them sat down. The vicar stood before the mourners and spoke in a clear voice that echoed through the silence.

"I welcome you all here on this cold morning in loving memory of Gwyneth Black. We have asked that Remus Lupin, Gwyneth's boyfriend, and Sirius Black, Gwyneth's brother to both say a few words."

Remus stood up and walked over to where the vicar had been standing. He took a deep breath and looked around at all the sorrowful faces there.

"I remember the day the Blacks moved in to the neighborhood where we all grew up together clearly," he began, his voice shaking slightly. "We were five and I had to be practically dragged out of the house to meet them, since back then I was considerably shy. I would've given anything to be somewhere else then out meeting new people. I recall running to my mum when Gwynn said 'hi' to me for the first time. But after spending some forced time together, I learned to like her brother and her.

"Gwynn taught me many things in our time together. She taught me to be outgoing, never to be ashamed of what I am, and most importantly to laugh. Gwynn never could stand to see one of her friends upset or depressed. If anyone in our small group of friends were feeling down, she'd find a way to make us feel better. Whether it'd be simply making a face or charming paper clips to sing and dance. She could make anyone laugh, well except the professors when her antics disturbed their class, which is if they caught her.

"I always admired her sense of adventure. She could never just sit around and wait for something to happen. If something was going on, she'd be out there right when it was happening or was apart of it and never on the sidelines. This also always had her out looking for trouble. No matter the consequences, she'd continue with her mission till she had achieved what she wanted, leading to numerous howlers and holding the detention record for a year.

"One thing I know I'll always miss about Gwynn is her smile. When she smiled, the day seemed to brighten, everything was right. When she smiled at me, I always wanted to smile back, no matter my mood. That smile told me that everything was going to be fine and nothing wrong was going to happen. 

"That smile was also the reason I fell for her a while ago. Though, I never knew how much I loved her till I saw her cry for the first time back in our third year. Those tears unlocked something inside me that left me dying to be the one who could stop them. I imagined us being together till the end." Remus paused to try and compose himself. "But the end came far too soon for both of us. All I'm left with now is memories of our short relationship and her love. Back one night over a year ago, I told her, 'My heart is yours / From now until forever' and she promised her heart to me in return. Forever hasn't come and I don't intend on backing out on my word. Even if forever finally comes, I don't think I could stop loving her. My heart will always belong to Gwynn and I could never love another like I love her." Remus sighed and walked to his seat, passing Sirius, who patted his shoulder in a brotherly way.

"Gwynn Black was my sister. Being twins, I spent most of my life with her. In fact, the most time that I've ever spent apart from her was a few seconds, and yet, I feel like I never really knew her.

"Of course, being teenagers, we fought, just like all siblings do. We're twins, so we fought a lot more than average siblings, yet somehow, that brought us closer together, like the time that we plotted to put worms in our mum's pasta dish." He paused as he saw his mother smile meekly under the sheet of tears covering her face. "I was always waiting for the day when we would both break out of that awkward teenage stage where we were forced by some invisible force to fight with each other, so I could really get to know my sister more. I wanted nothing more than to be her friend. I never got a chance to tell her that, nor will I ever have a chance to be that. Now that she is gone forever, I wish that I hadn't waited for our adolescence to be over. I thought we had forever, and now we only have never.

"My good friend Remus, who spoke before me, was her boyfriend. All I could do when they were going out was to try to separate them. I didn't realize that they were really in love. All I wanted to do was separate them because I felt like I was loosing Gwynn, like some sort of strange paternal instinct was taking over me. She didn't know that - she only thought that I was trying to make her unhappy. I only wanted to shelter my baby sister. I...I...I wish...th...I hope that Gwynn knew that I loved her when she died and… and that I'd never want to make her unhappy.

"I don't know how I'll keep going on. I never spent more than a few seconds without her in my life, and now I'll have to live without her for the rest of my life."

****

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Back at the Blacks' home, the Marauder's, Lily, and Lauren sat secluded from the other people there. The six of them were all squeezed onto a couch and a love seat in the living room. None of them spoke for the longest time. Remus sat with his hands clenched tightly together; Lauren was deep in thought and stared blankly at the ground at James' feet; laying his head back and listening to the chatter of the people around him, Sirius sighed. Lily was biting at her nails, not realizing she was doing so, and Peter was pondering what his master had in store for him next. Lauren broke from her trance and looked around at her friends. Her gaze stopped on Remus.

"Remus, you're bleeding!" she said pointing to his hands. Remus looked at her then at his hands where a trail of blood was creeping down his fingers and dropping on to his robes. That's when the sting of pain hit him. He opened his hands. There, imbedded in his left hand was Gwynn's broken necklace.

Lauren stared at his hands. "The bloody hands…" she mumbled.

"What?" Lily asked, as she helped Remus with his wound.

"M-my dream… I get it now," she said looking at the others. "It foretold Gwynn's death."

"What dream?" James asked.

"That reoccurring one that made no sense! It all makes sense now! Except the rats…"

"Tell us," Sirius said.

"Well, we were all like lost in some major blizzard," said Lauren. "There was like nothing around, nothing we could see anyway. We were walking blindly around, no idea to where we were going. We all slowly disappeared. Lily was the first to go. A while after she vanished, the guys disappeared. Though Remus hung around a bit, holding on to Gwynn's hand, blood dripping from them, though not noticed by either of them. I'm kinda embarrassed to say that I thought it was Remus who… well, you know. But I totally don't think that any more. Remus kissed Gwynn, and as they kissed he faded away. Gwynn and I continued through the storm, till we came to a shadowy figure. I ran up to him and the two of us disappeared, leaving Gwynn alone. She continued to walk on, following footprints in the snow she believed to be ours. She stopped when she heard something behind her. She turned to look and saw this dark pack of something running straight towards her. Now waiting to find out she ran as fats as she could screaming for help. The sky turned red and she reached a large ice wall. She turned to run the other way, but the dark swarm had her surrounded. The heard was a bunch of rats. The next part happened so fast. The ice wall glowed green and shattered. Then I'd always would wake up."

"So it's because we all left her alone?" Lily asked.

"That's what the dream told me," Lauren replied.

"I knew I shouldn't have left her," Remus mumbled, burying his face in his hands.

"It's not your fault Remus," James said.

"Yes it is," he said.

"Remus, if it's anybody's fault, it's mine," Lauren said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I should've paid more attention to the dream, and plus, I was the last one with her! I let her go off while I sat and flirted with some guy!"

"Excuse me," Remus stood up and walked out of the living room leaving the group in silence. He kept walking through the house weaving through the crowd. As he walked through he caught a few conversations. Most consisted of: "She was a wonderful child" "It's such a tragedy" and "Can a backfiring wand do that?"

He tried to block out the words of everyone he passed. He didn't stop till he was outside. He slumped down on a bench and completely broke down. He didn't hold back like he had over the past few days. Remus buried his head in his hands. He couldn't help but feel that Gwynn's death was completely his fault.

"Why Gwynn?" Remus whispered. "Why her?!" he shouted to the empty yard. "Why not someone else? Why?" He gritted his teeth and began to shake uncontrollably. He felt a sudden shock of pain. He lowered his hands and saw his nails grow into claws. He slowly turned his hands over and saw patches of fur sprouting up. "No… not now…" He couldn't be transforming now, it was still mid afternoon and a week till the next full moon. A wave of pain swept over him. He fell from the bench and to his knees, whispering in a pained voice, "Not yet! Not yet!"

"Remus, where are you?" someone said from the back door. Remus, clutching his sides, looked up and saw Sirius through the bare branches of a bush. "Remus, I know you're out here." Sirius looked around, but didn't notice Remus.

"Sirius," Remus said through gritted teeth, his voice coming out more like a growl. "Get… away…"

"Remus!" he shouted, running over to Remus's side. Remus could feel the wolf taking over. "Remus calm down! You can change back!" Remus's claws dug into the ground. He fought to regain control but couldn't focus. All he felt was hatred and sorrow; a longing to kill whom ever killed Gwynn. These feelings fueled the wolf. Remus swung his clawed right hand at Sirius, snarling as he did so. Sirius dodged the attack and tackled Remus to the ground, pinning Remus's arms to his side.

"Remus, I know how you feel!" he shouted trying to get him to calm down. Remus thrashed around trying to escape. Sirius knew he had to reach Remus. The last thing anyone needed was a werewolf loose in London. "It's not your fault she's dead! Fate works in cruel ways! I know you loved her, I did too! You can't go on blaming yourself or seeking revenge!" Remus gave a violent thrash nearly escaping Sirius's grasp. "Remus stop! Gwynn wouldn't wanted you to act this way!" He knew he had struck a nerve when Remus stopped struggling. Sirius slowly let go as Remus became still. Sirius stepped back as Remus transformed back into his normal self. "I'm sorry Remus." Remus just stood up, not looking Sirius in the eyes.

"You monster," came the hate-filled voice of Lydia Black. Remus looked up and saw many of the people at the reception standing there, staring in shock and fear. Lauren, Lily, James, and Peter pushed their way through the crowd towards Sirius and Remus.

"What happened?" James asked only loud enough for the six of them to hear.

"I changed," Remus replied.

"That's impossible, it's the afternoon," Lauren said.

"I know," said Remus.

"You horrible beast!" Mrs. Black shouted. "I want you off my property now!" Remus did as he was told and started to walk through the crowd the part to keep their distance.

"Remus wait up!" Lily shouted running to catch up.

"Yeah, wait for us," said James joining Remus and Lily. Peter caught up with them and Sirius started towards them when his mother grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Going with my friends," replied Sirius.

"If you leave you're not coming back!"

"Fine." Sirius pulled his arm free and caught up with the others.

Once off the Black's property, they signaled for the Knight Bus.

"Sirius, don't you think that was a little extreme?" asked Remus.

"Getting banished from my home?" said Sirius. "Nah. Anyway, it's not the first. It happens at least once a year. She always sends an owl saying she forgives me and that I can come home."  
  
"So it's kind of a ritual," said Lauren.

"Yup," Sirius said.

Once the Knight bus arrived, they all climbed on and headed back to Hogwarts. The ride was pretty much quiet. Remus was stretched out across a few chairs sleeping. Lily was staring out the window at the scenery flashing past. Lauren and Sirius were talking softly so not to disturb Remus.

****

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__

A/n: Yes, werewolf transformations can be triggered by emotions. I've done my research. I'd like to thank Sexy Dancing Paper Clip for helping with Sirius's speech.

****

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	24. Peter's Seeing Things!

****

Sweet Misery

****

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Time had past and it was now the Easter Holidays. The library was filled with students researching items for papers due and freshening up on things for the exams. Lily and Lauren were seated in the back of the library taking over an entire table with their books. Lauren's half was a complete mess while Lily's was carefully sorted in to piles. Lauren dug through her heap of parchment and books looking for her divination book.

'I hate divination,' Lauren muttered.

'Funny hearing that from a seer,' replied Lily.

'No, not divination itself, but the class,' said Lauren. 'The professor thinks she knows all. If one of my visions contradicts one of her 'visions', mine are always wrong.'

'She probably made a lucky guess one day and began to believe she had an inner eye.'

'Of course.' Lauren picked up her divination book and turned to the section on crystal ball reading.

'Hello beautiful ladies,' James said walking up to their table.

'Hey sexy, what do you need?' Lauren asked.

'I'm looking for my quill,' he replied.

'Well, neither of us borrowed it,' said Lily.

'I know, but I seem to have lost it,' James said, beginning to dig through Lauren's papers. 'It's kinda long, white, pointy at one end, kinda soft and feathery at the other end.' He moved over to Lily's papers and moved things around much to Lily's dislike.

'James stop! We haven't seen your quill!' Lily said trying to stop him from ruining her carefully sorted stacks.

'Are you sure?' James asked. 'Should I describe it again?'

'No!' replied Lily.

'James, I found it,' Remus said, holding up a quill. James turned towards Remus, sweeping his arm across the table mixing Lily's papers.

'Oh good,' said James. 'Sorry to disturb you two.' Lily was glaring at him with pursed lips. James flashed a quick smile and walked off.

'He did that purposely,' said Lily.

'Well of course he did,' replied Lauren as she began writing something on a piece of parchment. Lily quickly straightened up her papers and reached for her quill to start an Arithmancy paper when she found it missing.

'Excuse me while I go retrieve my quill and shove it down James's throat,' said Lily, standing up.

'Have fun,' replied Lauren, waving good bye. Lauren continued to scribble notes on her piece of parchment, ignoring the fact that James gave a yelp of surprise when Lily did who knows what to him. James's yells were soon joined by the other Marauders. Lauren looked up from her parchment and thought aloud, 'Did she say she was going to go get her quill and ask for some help or shove it down his throat?' She shrugged and continued with her paper as Madam Strife strode across the library towards where Lily and the Marauders were. A few moments later, Lily came back to the table and began piling up her stuff and placing all she could in her bag.

'Leaving so soon?' Lauren asked looking up.

'I kinda have to,' replied Lily. 'I was kicked out.'

'I'll come with you, I can't concentrate in this environment.' Lauren gathered up her stuff as Lily rolled her eyes. The Marauders passed by them, laughing the entire way out of the Library, receiving disapproving looks from Madam Strife.

'So what exactly did you do?' Lauren asked as she and Lily left the library.

'Pretty much what I said I was going to do,' said Lily.

'So you tried to shove your quill down James's throat,' Lauren said.

'Yup, surprised him, it did.'

'Well, it was you.'

'Yep. Sweet, innocent, little ol' me.' Lauren snorted at this.

'Innocent, yeah.'

'Okay so I lied, no big deal.'

'Lillian Evans… Lying!' said James in mock disappointment, coming from behind them throwing his arm around Lily's shoulders. 'I'm so disappointed in you, young lady! You are grounded missy!'

'Miss Evans, for lying and nearly killing a fellow Gryffindor, fifty points,' said Remus in an authoritative tone, mimicking Colin Howard, one of the resident Gryffindor prefects, 'awarded to you.'

'We've all been after James for years now,' said Sirius. 'For his money of course.'

'W-we n-never a-act-tually n-needed-d him-m b-bef-fore,' stammered Peter.

'And I thought you three actually cared!' shouted James, pretending to cry on Lily's shoulder.

'Oh they do care, James,' said Lauren. 'Just not about your well being as long as we all get the money.'

'Well, that's too bad,' replied James. 'My will specifically states that all of it goes to Lily because she's the only one who hasn't tried to kill me for my money.'

'Oh that's not fair,' said Sirius.

'W-wait, wh-what a-about b-back in th-the l-l-library?' stuttered Peter.

'Yeah, what about that vicious attack with a quill?' James asked, glaring skeptically at Lily.

'You've caught me,' replied Lily. 'I've been trying to get rid of you for four years now. I'm not in on it with them. I was going to knock you off, take the money, and tell you all I was going to Switzerland.'

'Switzerland?' the others echoed.

'Yes, when I'd actually be in Brazil,' said Lily.

'Ah, you've got to love well-thought out plans,' Remus said.

'And people after you for your money,' added Lauren.

'And people you actually think have money but they don't really have that much,' said James.

'Well, we've been trying to kill the wrong person then,' Lily stated.

'Yup, we should actually be after Sirius,' Lauren said leaning on Sirius's shoulder.

'What is this thing you call money?' Sirius said.

'You know, we have no one good to get rid of for money,' said Remus.

'What would we use the money for any way?' asked James.

'D-don't kn-know,' said Peter.

****

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Lauren ran down the corridors to Divination, determined not to be late for her exams. Her horrible sense of direction didn't help a bit.

'It's been four years,' she mumbled as she climbed the steps up to some floor, she couldn't remember which after taking numerous secret passages. She looked around trying to figure out where she was. She walked down the corridor looking into open classrooms for some idea.

'Lauren!' someone shouted from behind her. Lauren turned quickly, her book bag slamming into a suit of armour. Lauren clapped her hand over her mouth holding back laughter. Sirius came running up.

'Nice work,' he said. 'You should repair it.'

'I should, shouldn't I?' she said picking up the gauntlets. Sirius pulled off his robes and placed the cuirass, fauld and tassets on.

'Pretty snazzy, eh?' he said.

'You look so pretty,' replied Lauren, placing the brassards, cubitieres, and gauntlets on. Lauren grabbed the gorget and placed it around her neck. Sirius grabbed the tabard and pulled it on over his head. Lauren flipped off her shoes and placed the sabatons on her feet before placing her shoes in her book bag. Sirius picked up the helmet and placed it on his head. He lifted the visor and turned to Lauren.

'Let's get to Divination,' replied Sirius. 'I'm sure the tarot reading will be truly fascinating.'

'Right,' agreed Lauren, picking up the shield and sword. The two of them received odd looks from students they passed as they ran towards the North Tower. When they reached the trap door, they found their classmates sitting beneath the trap door reading up on tarot. They looked up when they heard the metal beating up the stone steps to the tower. Most of them held back laughs while the others just rolled their eyes. Sirius and Lauren sat down next to James and Peter. Sirius lifted the visor, which had fallen down while they were running up to divination.

'Has she started exams yet?' Sirius asked.

'Not yet,' replied James, shutting the visor.

'W-what's w-w-with th-the a-a-armour?' Peter asked.

'Well, after Divination, Sirius and I were planning on going to go slay that sodding dragon on the seventh floor,' said Lauren.

'Care to join us?' Sirius said, his voice muffled by the metal. 'We can go get you some armour from the supply cabinet.'

'By which he means the corridors,' added Lauren.

'Well, I'll come when the dragon has you two cornered in a position you can't possibly get out of then come and save the damsel in distress,' said James.

'You think I can't handle myself?' Lauren asked.

'I wasn't talking about you, I meant Sirius,' replied James.

'Yeah,' agreed Sirius.

'Anyway, you have a sword,' said James.

'But what about when the dragon eats my sword?' inquired Lauren.

'Sir Peter the Valiant will ride to your rescue,' said Sirius, giving Peter a hit on the back. Peter nearly fell forward off the step he was sitting on by the force of the hit.

'Can I be the damsel in distress instead?' Lauren asked.

'Better yet, Peter can be the damsel in distress!' said James.

'B-b-but—' Peter started.

'Thanks for volunteering Peter!' Sirius said.

'You'll make a great damsel in distress,' said Lauren. Peter was interrupted by the trap door opening and Professor Oleassi calling up the first pair of students.

'Nicole Anderson and Dirk Stevens.'

Dirk and Nicole shut their books and climbed up the ladder in to the room. The rest of the students sat patiently, studying the lines of the hand and trying to remember what each card meant. Dirk and Nicole came down a little while later and Professor Oleassi called for Amanda Dahms and Jason Ricci. Lauren soon lost interest in studying and pulled the sword from its sheath. 

'I don't think this sword is that impressive,' said Lauren, rotating it around.

'It doesn't matter how impressive it is, just that you can take someone's head off with it,' replied Sirius, lifting the visor after it had fallen for the millionth time.

'True,' said Lauren. Lauren looked over towards Peter who had fallen asleep over his book. He had apparently stayed up too late the previous night freaking out about forgetting all he knew and was cramming for the day's exams. She reached over and slowly pulled his copy of 'Unfogging the Future' off his lap. She closed the book and set it up on the top stair and lifted the sword above her head. James looked up towards her and grinned when he realized what she was going to do. Some of the other students looked over curiously.

'DIE SCUM!' she shouted as she brought down the sword slicing Peter's book in half. Her shout and the clang of metal woke Peter up and caught the attention of the other students.

'M-m-my b-b-book!' Peter shouted picking up the binding of the book. Lauren placed the sword back in its sheath. 'H-h-how am-m I-I g-g-going t-to st-study n-now? Wh-why c-c-couldn't-t y-you k-k-kill y-y-your o-own b-book?'

'It's just not as much fun.'

'James Potter and Lauren Fonseca,' announced Professor Oleassi.

'I hope your cards say terrible things,' joked James.

'Aw, thanks,' replied Lauren. 'I hope yours do too!'

'Thank you,' said James.

Professor Oleassi was waiting for them in her normal corner of the room with a table set before her. She gave a questioning look when Lauren came in with her armour.

'Miss Fonseca, I suggest you return that armour to its proper place after this exams,' said Professor Oleassi.

'Do you _see_ me returning the armour?' Lauren asked in a slight mocking tone.

'With an attitude towards divination like that, you shall never truly develop an inner eye,' replied Professor Oleassi.

'I'll try to get a better attitude, Professor,' said Lauren, sitting down at the table, James taking the seat across from her. Professor Oleassi pulled out a deck of tarot cards and handed them to James.

'You first Mr. Potter,' she said. 'Miss Fonseca, give him a question to answer.'

'Alright then,' replied Lauren. 'What might happen in my future love life, James? I'm dying to know.' James gave the cards a quick shuffle.

'I'm going to take the long approach to answering your question,' stated James as he flipped the first card over. 'This represents your past experiences in this part of you life. A reversed five of cups, interesting. Taken any false "projects," if you will, in your past?'

'I guess you could put it that way,' said Lauren, shrugging. 'The occasional meaningless relationship never hurt anyone.'

'Well of course they don't,' replied James. Professor Oleassi cleared her throat. 'Oh, that's right, we're here for a reason.' James flipped over the next card. 'Three of wands in the personal growth area… Well, three of wands means discovery… so maybe you need to discover more thing to grow? That makes no sense. Anyway, moving on to your future,' he flipped over the next card. 'Reversed four of cups… that means new relations.'

'Well I would hope so!' said Lauren.

'Imagine, poor Lauren going without another guy in her life!' James said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. James and Lauren quickly became somber again with a "look" from Professor Oleassi. James flipped the next card.

'And the summery of this wonderful spread is the two of cups reversed,' said James. 'I do believe that represents a misunderstanding. I'm guessing that there will be a misunderstanding in at least one of your relationships. Fun yes? Well, now for the clarity card. Oh… reversed lovers. Failure is I'm guessing how this all ends.'

'Well, it's just cards right?' said Lauren. 'It's not like it's set in stone or anything.'

'Ah well, Miss Fonseca, it's quite hard to change the future,' said Professor Oleassi.

'Well, my turn is it?' Lauren said, scooping up the tarot deck from the table and shuffling them, waiting for James to ask a question.

****

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Later that night as they all were sitting in the common room relieved that the day's exams were over.

'Lauren, how many times are you going to play with those cards?' Lily asked, watching Lauren pick up the five cards she had on the table.

'You know, the past few times I've dealt these cards, I have gotten the same five?' replied Lauren, sticking the five cards in random places in the deck.

'Lauren, you don't believe James's horrible reading, do you?' Sirius said. 'He was probably interpreting things wrong.'

'But isn't it odd that those same five cards keep appearing?' asked Lauren, not paying attention as she flipped over five cards; the five of cups (reversed), the three of wands, the four of cups (reversed), two of cups (reversed), and the Lovers (reversed). She looked back and rolled her eyes as she set the tarot deck down.

'It's a full moon right?' Lauren said.

'Y-y-yeah,' stammered Peter.

'I hope Remus is doing okay without her," said Lily.

'It's not like it's his first transformation without her,' stated Sirius.

'I know, but still…' Lily said, trailing off.

'You know, Remus always does seem depressed when he returns,' said James.

'Which is often hidden beneath that tired and sick look,' added Lauren.

'Are you guys still working on that Animagus thing?' Lily inquired.

'We stopped after Christmas,' replied Sirius.

'Maybe you should start that up again,' suggested Lily.

'Yeah,' agreed Lauren. 'It might make him feel better, not being alone and all.'

'W-why h-h-hasn't-t h-he said-d anyth-thing?' Peter stuttered.

'Maybe he doesn't want to,' said Lily. 'Guys don't always say when something's bothering them.'

'Too true,' Lauren said.

'That's actually a good idea,' said Sirius. 'Do you two want to join us in this wonderful adventure in how long we can last reading nothing but spell books?'

'No thanks,' replied Lily. 'Breaking school rules is one thing, but the law? No.' The Marauders looked towards Lauren.

'I might,' answered Lauren. 'It'll depend on my mood when you guys figure out how to do it.' Lauren put her tarot cards back into their case and tossed them on the floor.

'You take the time to put them away but not to put them in your bag?' Lily said.

'Putting them in my bag is a waste of time,' replied Lauren. 'Putting them in the case saves me time from picking them up off the floor.'

'Makes perfect sense to me,' said Sirius.

'Anything makes sense to you,' commented James. 'Especially nonsense.'

****

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The end of the year had arrived and the students were waiting by the castle for the carriages that would take them to the train station to arrive. They didn't need to wait too long, as the horse-less carriages clambered up the path. It was like any other year, but Peter saw something that startled him. No longer were the carriages horse-less, but large winged horses with skeletal bodies and heads like dragons were situated in front of each carriage.

'W-w-what a-a-are th-those?' he managed to stutter, pointing at the large creatures.

'What are what, Peter?' Lily asked, looking towards the carriages.

'D-d-don't y-you s-see th-those cr-creat-t-tures?' Peter looked at his friends and saw the puzzled looks on their faces.

'I see nothing,' said Lauren.

'Same here,' replied Remus.

'I see some Slytherin-like creatures, but that's about it,' Sirius said.

'You must be seeing things mate,' James said, patting Peter on the head as he and the others walked towards the carriages. Peter stared confused at the creatures before running to catch up with the rest of his group, not taking his eyes off the odd horses hitched to the carriages. He ran into a few people, leading to the valiant rescues performed by Sirius and James, who could tell off a seventh year Slytherin without faltering. Once in the carriage, they set off for the station to board the train.

****

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__

A/n: Blaaaaaaaaaaah…it's Dead Tori Month. The poor kitty (AKA me) has almost died from an overdose of school, late nights, and waking up early. I swear I nearly collapsed a few days ago that's how tired I was. Didn't help that it was picture day too… Am so getting retakes. Will also kill the public school system for making high school start so early.

Anywho, posts are going to slow down. **Majorly**. Not just cuz of school, but also because I insist on actually doing school related clubs. I'm one of the programmers for Anime Club and I'm joining Science Olympiad and Science Bowl. Then there's the possibility of a job and then there's Tae Kwon Do. Funz funz funz. I think the only time I may have to write will be in those precious hours of sleep that I get or lack, whatever it is. Well, there's also lunch, but that's for studying for math tests.

Thank you for understanding. Oh yeah, there's a small new bit added to 23 that I had forgotten when I first posted it. And now, it's about 9 PM now, and I'm exhausted. Night-night.

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	25. It's Going to be a Long Summer

****

Sweet Misery

****

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The summer holidays were as eventful as they normally were in the beginning; meaning not much was being done. Lauren sat out in her backyard playing a game of Exploding Snap with Loni as the breeze occasionally blew the cards around.

'A storm's coming,' said Lauren as Loni grabbed at some flyaway cards.

'Well, it's nice to know your seer powers are good for something,' said Loni packing up the cards.

'If only I used them for meteorology,' Lauren replied. 'You can smell the rain in the air.'

'Well, why can't you use your powers for frivolous things?' inquired Loni as the two of them walked inside.

'It's only amazing for large things like who you'll end up with in the end,' said Lauren.

'Post's here.' Loni flipped through the letters and threw one at Lauren. Lauren smiled when she saw it was from Lily. She flipped it over and tore the envelope open. Lauren pulled out the letter and began to read it.

__

Laur!

Hey, how's your summer going? Dull yes? Well, what are your plans for July 1st? You better have none. If you do, blow them off, you are coming here for a wonderful party for Remus's and my 15th birthday. We had no part in planning this. Our parents that it'd be a good idea, meaning it's not going to be too great. Anyway, I hope you can come. Oh yeah, wear muggle clothes. I invited some of my muggle friends, so they might find it odd if you show up in robes and whatnot. Anyway, July 1st starting at one. How late it'll go, I don't know.

Now that that's out of the way, how are you? I've been doing fine. It's been a more tolerable summer since Petunia spends most of her time away from the house. I'm sure you and Loni are having a fabulous time together. That is, if you two haven't been at each other's throats all summer.

Owl me back saying if you can come or not. Please come! 

Lils

As Lauren finished Lily's letter Loni tossed her another letter, hitting her forehead. The envelope fell into her hands. She set down Lily's letter and opened to one she had just received, throwing the empty envelope at Loni, who dodged it.

****

Ren-Ren!

How's my insane little seer? Miserable, I'm hoping. Have you gotten the invite to Lil's and Remo's fifteenth? If you haven't I shouldn't've said anything. Anywho, I was thinking you and I could scare the nice little muggles that Lil's friends with. You up for it? It'll be fun, honest! Well if I don't hear back from you, I'll know you hate me forever and will be plotting my death in hopes of getting money.

Tah darling!

Siri

Lauren grinned. Of course she'd join him in scaring the muggles. Besides pulling pranks, it was one of her favorite things to do. Lauren walked past Loni and upstairs. She pulled a piece of parchment from her desk drawer and wrote replies to Sirius and Lily. Once finishing her letters, she looked down the corridor towards the stairs and didn't see Loni coming. With the letters in her hands, Lauren crept quietly into Loni's room. Loni's owl, Cloud, hooted as Lauren closed the door behind her. Lauren pressed her finger to her lips and walked over to Cloud.

'Cloud, being the fantastic messenger you are, would you do me the great honor of delivering these letters?' Lauren asked. Cloud hooted with delight and gladly stuck out his leg. 'I knew you were a great owl. Take them to Lily Evans and Sirius Black.' Lauren stroked Clouds feathers and opened the window letting Cloud fly out. Lauren turned to leave Loni's room when she saw Loni standing in the doorway.

'Can't you get your own owl?' Loni inquired.

'No, no I can't,' replied Lauren. 'I am very incapable of owning an owl, so says the Department for the Protection of Flying Creatures from Lauren.'

'You just don't want to spend any of your money,' retorted Loni.

'What gave you that idea? I love spending my money. The fact that I'm not allowed in the Owl Emporium is a good reason to why I don't have an owl.'

'I'll buy you one then.'

'Oh you'll use your money to buy me an owl? You are so sweet!' Lauren patted Loni on the head and started out the door.

'With money **you** provide!'

'Oh, then I don't want one.' Lauren grinned widely at Loni and left.

****

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Sirius was sitting in he room back at the Black Estate (near the end of the school year, Mrs. Black had sent a letter saying that she had forgiven Sirius for the stunt he pulled at the funeral and was willing to take him back in) plotting his next attack on his cousins. He watched as his owl, Oz, flew around the ceiling of his room trying the derive inspiration from him. Oz stopped his circles and glided down to the window where a golden owl with a few feathers sticking out of the top of his head. Sirius hopped off his bed and opened the window taking the letter from the owl before it flew off after many annoyed clicks from Oz. Sirius ripped the envelope open and patted Oz on the head as he shook opened the letter.

****

Siri

Yeah, I got the invite. So what do you have planned for Lily's poor little friends? I have a few ideas myself but I want to see what yours are first so I can laugh at you when mine are ten times better. Gimme a call _(A/n: I use call in the fireplace sense.) _**and we can discuss this. Oh yeah, I hope Cloud didn't hurt your weak little owl. Loni's owl can be quite ruthless when it comes to getting attention. If Cloud hurt Oz, I'm semi sorry. But since it's not my owl I cannot be held liable for any of his actions.**

Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

The Management

'Well, better call her then,' said Sirius, shoving the letter into his pocket and walking out of his room towards the nearest fireplace.

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A/n: Sorry for such a short chapter! Gomen nasai! :: bows repeatedly:: I kept writing myself into corners. "**Tori's friend who believes she's Ganon from the Zelda video games: Ganon has no need for corners."** Quiet you. I know this chapter is nowhere near an acceptable length— "**Tori's friend: Ganon has no need for acceptable lengths."** I'm going to kill you with my cell phone. "**Tori's Friend: Link does not have a cell phone."** I shall defeat you with Gatorade and cheap jokes! Ahem… Anywho, in hopes of making up for this horrible lack of chapter, I'll include a bit of a new story that I'm working on along with SM. At the moment, it's untitled and I'm nearly finished with the first chapter. Here you go:

He was what you could call an outcast. He spent his time with his small group of friends who were just about as socially shunned as he was. But this never mattered to them; they were quite content with where they stood in the school's society. They never felt as if they had to please or show off to anyone. They could pull pranks as much as they wanted and lose however many points for Gryffindor without even caring what the other Gryffindors thought; this is exactly what they did. This lack of interest in their house's points is exactly why in their first year at Hogwarts they were labeled as troublemakers and ignored by the higher ranked students. Over the years, he and his friends continued down this chosen path and caused nothing but problems for Gryffindor. Their main targets were the Slytherins, but pranking the same people repeatedly tends to make you lose interest. They then turned their attention to the "social elite" as they called them. This sparked a new hatred from the "social elite" towards the Marauders.

On the other side of the spectrum, was her place. She was one of the most popular girls in the school. She had it all; friends, her choice of nearly any guy in school, beauty, and intelligence. Of course, she found her life just about perfect, not wanting to change a thing. She never would associate with the Marauders. She even refused all family ties to her brother, who was one of them. The only time she or any of her friends would acknowledge their existence was to laugh at them when they were caught before finishing a prank or if they did anything embarrassing. Other than that, she would ignore them all together.

But not all perspectives of another person stay the same. They say opposites attract. Could it possibly be true for the two of them?

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Well, what do you think? The first chapter's nearly complete. Do you want me to post that and work on that and SM or should I hold off on that one till SM is complete? BTW: I'm not telling you the main characters, so you can either guess or wait till it's posted. Yay, unpopular marauders! Chicks dig socially inept guys. Oh yeah, before I forget, this is going to be a long summer. Probably three or four chapters, which is long for my summer chapters.

Oh, does anyone have a nice list of songs that were popular in Britain during the seventies? I kinda need some for later chapters, maybe. Anywho, I'm in kinda a foul mood because my wonderful POS PC thought it'd be fun to delete my entire collection of J-pop. Now I have to d/l all 120+ songs again -_-""""

Well, Tah for now, sorry again for such a short chapter, I might decide to redo this chapter later on.

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	26. Back off girls!

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Sweet Misery

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Lauren dug through her closet looking for some type of muggle clothing. She knew she had bought a new outfit especially for the party, then hid it to keep Loni from "borrowing" it, but now she couldn't remember where she had hidden it. She had thrown nearly every robe she owned across the room when she found a bag hung on a hanger beneath a robe she never wore due to its horrible brown color.

'Victory!' she shouted holding the bag up in triumph. The only thing she was missing now were the boots she bought for the outfit, but she knew exactly where she had put those if they hadn't decided to walk away on her. Out of the bag she pulled a black and white striped boat necked t-shirt, a black mini skirt, a white belt, and a pair of fish net stockings. Lauren looked over at a clock hanging on her wall and saw the hand slowly approaching "You're going to be late!" Quickly changing, she grabbed her purse and black cabbie before snatching her white mid-calf boots and running downstairs.

'I'm leaving!' Lauren said as she ran out the front door leaving it wide open to the annoyance of her family. As she ran down towards the street, she held out her wand hand signaling the knight bus. It appeared in front of her with a loud bang just barely missing a lamppost that jumped out of the way at the last second. She fished eleven sickles out of her purse and handed them to the conductor. She instructed where she wanted to go and asked him to hurry. Lauren took a seat close to the front of the bus and put on her boots careful not to do anything that might scuff them. She placed on her cabbie and adjusted it to the right angle. After two stops, the bus had finally reached Manchester. It had stopped at the end of Lily's street to avoid any attention from arriving muggles to the party. Lauren climbed off the bus and ran down the street towards the Evans' home. She slowed to a walk a few houses down from Lily's home. She looked around and saw a good few people she didn't know walking up to Lily's home. She smiled knowing that she was going to have so much fun with what she and Sirius had planned. **'Speaking of Sirius,**' Lauren thought to herself, **'where is he?'** Lauren figured that he must have arrived already and sped up a little. A loud roar filled the street and Lauren turned to see what it was. A motorcycle was tearing around the corner. She turned and started walking back wards to watch the cyclist. She smiled when she saw him pull into Lily's driveway. Lauren reached the house just as the cyclist was dismounting the bike. His back was turned as he started to pull off the helmet.

'Nice bike, maybe you could take me for a ride some time,' Lauren said, placing a hand on her hip. The rider turned around, slightly startling her. 'Sirius! You own a bike?'

'I got it at the beginning of summer,' replied Sirius, holding the helmet underneath his arm. 'You know, just to piss my parents off. They hate all things muggle apparently.'

'Well it looks great. You gonna get a leather jacket?' inquired Lauren.

'I have one. Can't own a motorcycle without one. I would've worn it, but I might've died on the way over here from the heat.'

'Good thing you didn't then, we don't need that.'

'Ready to head inside?'

'Sure.' Sirius quickly ran his hand through his hair to fix it from whatever the helmet could've done as he and Lauren walked up to Lily's door. 'Should we knock?' Lauren asked, her hand resting on the knob.

'Nah, who needs knocking anyway?' replied Sirius, placing his hand on Lauren's and turning it. He pushed the door open before Lauren had a chance to pull her hand off the knob, sending her stumbling in. Lauren laughed as Sirius stepped inside in an overly graceful manner (think ballet), though her laugh could barely be heard over the music in the other room. Lauren swung the door shut and followed Sirius to the living room where they found Lily who was introducing James to some friends of hers.

'Nikki, Anna, this is James, a friend of mine from my school,' said Lily. 'He's the star forward of our football team.'

'You're a football player?' Nikki asked in slight awe.

'I love football,' said Anne.

'How many games have you won?' Nikki inquired, taking his hand.

'How good are you?' questioned Anne, taking his other hand.

James smiled widely and said, 'Oh I'm not that good, last year we only won twelve out of our thirteen games.' Nikki and Anne were completely taken by James and continued to flatter him as he led them over to the couch to talk about his incredible football record.

'Not a very good idea,' said Sirius to Lily.

'Oh hey!' said Lily turning around to Lauren and Sirius. 'Well I had to do something to stop Nikki and Anne from assailing me with "Who's he?" "Is he taken?" and other questions like that.'

'There's always telling them he's gay,' replied Lauren.

'Why do I always forget that one?' asked Lily.

'Because you're too nice to use that excuse, that's why,' said Remus, who seeming appeared out of nowhere, startling them all.

'Are you perfecting that talent or something?' Sirius said, setting his helmet down on a table.

'Why yes, yes I am,' replied Remus. 'I've nearly got it down. Who needs apparating when you've mastered the art of stealth?' Remus noticed the helmet on the table. 'I see you've gotten that motorcycle.'

'You got a motorcycle?' Lily said, surprised.

'The part that surprises me is the fact they gave him a license,' said Remus.

'I'm a great driver I'll have you know,' replied Sirius.

'Yes,' agreed Lauren. 'He makes very nice right turns. It was quite a sight.'

'Oh, you scared me,' replied Lily. 'I thought you were saying you rode here with him.'

'Oh no, I'm crazy, but not that crazy,' answered Lauren. 'Riding with Sirius could be suicide.'

'Hey, I thought you were on my side with all of this!' said Sirius indignantly. 

'Oh look, people!' Lauren said quickly before moving off to mingle with people on the other side of the room and avoid further conversation about Sirius's driving skills. Sirius turned to Lily and Remus once Lauren had left.

'Why is it so hard to believe that I got a license?' he asked.

'Well, for one thing, it's you,' replied Remus. 'You have a tendency run into people at full speed when you're flying and that's not too much different from driving.'

'I run into them just to knock them off their brooms ensuring victory,' huffed Sirius, crossing his arms over his chest and looking off to his side.

'Knocking your own teammates off their brooms ensures victory?' inquired Lily.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again as James came walking by with his arms around Nikki and Anne. Both girls clinging on to James as they walked. 

'That is sooooo cool,' Nikki said. 'James you are like the coolest guy ever.'

'And so cute too,' added Anne.

'Oh please,' James said trying to feign modesty, but failing miserably, enjoying the attention he was getting. 'I'm not that cool.'

'Tell us more about you,' Nikki pleaded.

As James began to ramble on about some life he was making up as he went along and lead the two girls past Sirius, Remus, and Lily, Lily looked disgusted at the way her friends were acting.

'I'm sorry I introduced them to him,' she said shaking her head as Nikki and Anne burst into a fit of giggles at something James said.

'Dude, I want some of your friends hanging on my every word too!' Sirius said. 'If James gets two girls, I want two girls too! It's not fair otherwise!'

'Sirius, I don't pawn my friends off,' replied Lily. 'I know it's hard for you to believe, but they are actually people and not objects. The only reason I introduced them to James is because those two were bugging me about him since they saw him arrive. And five minutes of "Ooh, who's that?" "He's so cute!" "You know him?! Introduce us Lily!" and stuff like that gets kinda annoying after a while.'

'No one's asked about me?' Sirius said looking a little hurt.

'Well, since I've been talking to you since you've arrived, I'd have to say I wouldn't know,' replied Lily. 'I'll go talk to some of them, Sirius. Check back with me in like five minutes.' Sirius's face lit up with delight as Lily wandered off towards a few of her friends.

'You are a petty man Sirius,' commented Remus, shaking his head in disappointment at his friend's actions.

'Do you have any cute friends?' asked Sirius.

'Only if you find guys cute,' Remus replied.

'You are of no use to me,' said Sirius, moving through the living room, past a few dancing people. Sirius caught up with Lily about ten minutes later. Lily shrugged when he cast an inquiring look towards her. Well that just wasn't fair in Sirius's opinion. He couldn't just let this injustice slide. James has his back turned towards him as Sirius plotted revenge. The idea struck him like a ton of bricks. He walked just fast enough to not create suspicion from people around him towards James. He could just overhear the conversation between them.

'James, you are just too much!' said Anne giggling.

'You are too cute!' Nikki said, placing a hand on his chest.

'Easy ladies, there's enough James to go around,' replied James with a million galleon smile on his face. James suddenly lurched forward as Sirius jumped on to his back with his arms around his neck.

'Oh James!' shouted Sirius. He was holding on to James so tight that the Jaws of Life wouldn't be able to pry him off. 'You're so cute! Back off girls! Jamie-Boy's mine!' Nikki and Anne stared wide-eyed at Sirius and James as they slowly backed away. James was fuming as he stood there slouched from the weight of Sirius on his back, slowly turning red from a mix of anger and embarrassment. He looked out of the corner of his eyes towards Sirius who was grinning like a maniac. 'You know, you're cute when you're angry,' teased Sirius.

'You are so dead once you get off me,' James growled.

'Are you saying you don't want me to get off, Luv?' Sirius said in a mocking tone. James reached up trying to hit Sirius, but he jumped off just in the nick of time. James went after him again when Remus came up behind James grabbing him by the neck of his shirt.

'Remus let me go!' James said still struggling to get at Sirius who was standing just out of his reach taunting him.

'James, please leave your lover's quarrel for later,' said Remus, who found James turning on him. Sirius tackled James to the ground.

'Leave it for the bedroom boys!' Lauren shouted from across the room where she was dancing with some muggle guy.

'Truce?' Sirius asked still pinning James to the ground.

'Truce? How can we have a truce?' said James.

'Well, you had two beautiful girls all over you, I had none, I fixed that by you not having any,' explained Sirius.

James sighed. 'Fine, truce,' he replied. 'Though I don't see where I'm benefiting in this truce. Everyone thinks I'm gay.'

'Everyone thinks I'm gay too,' said Sirius.

'That's a plus.' Sirius got up letting James off the ground. The other guys at the party refused to go anywhere near James or Sirius, always moving away if they got too close. This quickly turned into a game for James and Sirius seeing who could get closer to the other guys at the party before they moved away in fear.

The party continued on for hours, everyone having a blast, or as much fun as Sirius and James could possibly have after their little scene earlier. Lauren spent a good amount of her time one the dance floor, a new dance partner for every song. Lily danced occasionally, since dancing wasn't really her thing and spent the rest of the time catching up with her old friends and making some new ones. Remus was often found hanging out by a wall watching the people around him, often talking with Sirius, James, or one of his other friends. He was occasionally pulled away from his spot on the wall by Lauren and on to the dance floor forcing him to "at least have a little fun" in her words.

The party was drawing to a close quickly. Lauren had finally taken a break from her dancing to grab a drink and spend some time with Lily, Remus, Sirius, and James. She grabbed her black cabbie, which she had abandoned on the refreshment table sometime earlier, and placing it back on.

'I have to say, I'm having a great time Lils,' said Lauren.

'Everything was going nicely till Siri ruined it for me,' commented James, casting a quick glare at Sirius.

'Oh Jamie, I'm hurt!' Sirius said, clutching his heart. 'I thought you really cared about me! Oh listen their playing our song! Let's dance Jamie! For old times sake!'

James just blinked. 'Now you're scaring me,' he replied.

'That's what he's here for isn't he?' asked Lily.

'Too right this one is,' agreed Sirius. 'Come James! Dance with me!' Before James could react, Sirius had taken James's hand and pulled him out to the dance floor where he forced James to dance with him. James finally stopped fighting thinking, '**To hell with it**.' He knew there was a rare chance that he would ever see any of these people again. He lightened up and joined Sirius in doing the most ridiculous dance moves ever seen.

'Oh, I didn't realize "September" was playing!' said Lily, letting the lyrics sink in. 'Remus, dance with me!' Lily took Remus's hands and pulled him towards the dancing crowd as he said, 'Sure, but if you start dancing like Sirius and James, I don't know you.'

Lauren stood off watching as Sirius and James began some odd waltz sped up to meet the beat of the song, hold her Pepsi and running her finger along the brim of the cup. She set the half-empty cup down on the table and walked over to James, who was starting to tango with Sirius, and tapped him on the shoulder.

'Mind if I cut in?' she asked. James stepped aside allowing her to take his place and she and Sirius continued the moronic dance moves. James went over to where Remus and Lily were dancing and stole Lily away Remus. No sooner had Sirius and Lauren started dancing, the song ended and a slow song began as the final song. Lauren and Sirius groaned when they found that the tempo had dropped turned too slow for their liking.

'It figures,' said Lauren. 'The moment you and I finally get to scaring some of the muggles, something happens to ruin the plans.'

'I know,' agreed Sirius. 'Well, care to dance anyway?' He held out his arms waiting for her answer. She shrugged.

'Sure,' she replied. Taking the normal dancing position, Lauren placing her arms around Sirius's neck and he placing his hands on her waist, they placed slightly more than normal space between them. They danced silently as the song progressed, often looking around at the others, barely letting their eyes linger on each other.

'So, um, how's the animagus thing going?' Lauren said, trying to ease some of the odd tension between them.

'Okay, I guess,' said Sirius. 'We're still working on it. We're getting close though.'

'Oh really? I think I might take you up on that offer to become an animagus,' Lauren said. She looked back towards Lily who was dancing with James; the two of them laughing at James dipped Lily to the point where she was barely an inch off the ground.

'Nice song,' Sirius said.

'Hmm?' replied Lauren. 'Oh yeah, if you're into this type of music.' The two of them fell back into their awkward silence for the remainder of the song. Once the song had concluded, the guests slowly began to disperse, each saying goodbye and wishing Lily and Remus 'happy birthday.' Sirius, Lauren, and James were the final guests to leave. James left via port key, which he had his parents set up. Lauren and Sirius left after James had. Lauren was about to call for the night bus when Sirius called over to her.

'How bout I give you a lift?' he suggested.

'Oh, no, I couldn't possibly let you do that!' said Lauren. 'Driving to Firan Valley would be sending you too far out of your way.'

'Nah, it's fine,' replied Sirius. 'I've had enough caffeine to keep me awake till the end of the week and I've never been to Firan Valley. It'll be an adventure.'

'You do realize that it's close to Scotland, don't you?'

'And? Do you have a curfew or something that you're worried about missing?'

'Well, I do have a curfew, but it's been a while since I broke it… Eh, what the hell, if you're willing to drive me there.'

'Great, hop on.' Sirius handed her an extra helmet as she sat sidesaddle on the back of the bike.

'Ooh, an extra helmet, were you expecting to take someone out tonight?' Lauren said, taking off her cabbie and putting the helmet on, fastening it tight.

'Not really,' replied Sirius. 'I didn't expect anyone to trust my driving skills that much, but I never take it off the bike anyway.' He placed on his helmet and mounted the bike. 'Hold on,' he told Lauren. She placed her arms rather loosely around his waist as he started up the bike. He backed out the drive way kind of slowly.

'Show me what this thing can do!' said Lauren. Sirius gave the engine a quick rev and sped off down the street. Lauren gave a quick yelp at the sudden burst of speed and clutched tightly to Sirius as the scenery whipped by.

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A/n: Yay! It's done! Isn't it spiffilicious? Before I go on with my normal end of chapter rant, I need to say a few things. First of all, I'd like to give credit to Iancomix for the whole Sirius jumping on James thing. Next, a big big **BIG** thank you to Inspection 12 for writing such great songs that helped me get over my little block on how to write this chapter. Pssht… Like Inspection 12 would be reading my fanfic. And third of all, thanks to Padfoot for giving me a list of seventies songs which I didn't need as much as I though I would, but Padfoot, you're my hero anyway! Now on to my normal rants.

THERE WILL BE JAMES AND LILY ROMANCE! But not yet. Please don't go demanding that I put some in right now. It will come in good time, my children. Be patient. Now my little communists, I do not like reviewers who think I will change my entire plan that I have had carefully planned out from the beginning of this story just for them because they can't wait for something to happen. And now, I have to come up with an overall summary for SM because some reviewers don't understand that I change the summary for the most recent chapter posted. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Anywho my little minions, I just had to let that out for a reviewer who has mildly annoyed me.

BTW: Does anyone know the driving time from going from Manchester to just outside of Scotland when going about 50-70 mph? My guess is 5-6 hours, but that's just a guess from comparing that distance to that of one I've traveled many times. If you know, please tell me.

Well, bai bai for now!

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	27. Chapter 27

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Sweet Misery

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The scenery whipped by in a blur as Sirius wove through traffic to escape the confines of the city's buildings and reach the open roads. The wind, carrying with it a small hint of the scent of summer, whipped past them creating the illusion that the temperature had dropped a few degrees. Lauren's tight grip on his waist was still as tight as it was when they had left Lily's house, but not so much out of nervousness as in the beginning, but more as a need to remain close to him. But to Sirius, it was all the same.

When Sirius stopped at a stoplight, he looked back to Lauren and asked, 'You okay?' Lauren, still holding tightly to Sirius, nodding as she brushed back her hair that had blown into her face.

'Just a little cold, that's all,' replied Lauren.

'I can understand why,' said Sirius, running his eyes over her outfit. 'Could you have worn anything shorter?' Before Lauren could snap a reply, the light changed and Sirius was off again, drowning out anything Lauren may have said with the motorcycle's engine. Lauren watched as the brick buildings and concrete sidewalks grew sparse as they left the city. The lights of the city were soon replaced by the glow of the headlights from pacing cars and the rays of the half moon. But even the moon's light soon died out as clouds slowly moved in.

They had been driving for an hour when a clap of thunder echoed through the air. The rain began slow at first, but quickly picked up into a downpour. Sirius sped up as the lights from a small town up ahead became visible. By the time Sirius pulled into a gas station, the two of them were soaked to the bone. Sirius pulled off his helmet as he climbed off the motorcycle and grabbed the nozzle off the pump.

'Laur, why don't you go inside and wait,' suggested Sirius gesturing to a small diner just next door to the station. 'I'll join you in a little bit, maybe we can wait out the storm.'

'Okay,' replied Lauren. As she walked over to the diner, she pulled off her helmet and brushed through her hair with her fingers. When she walked into the diner, she looked around at the restaurant. Not too many people were in there, but that was pretty much expected from a small town diner. Lauren walked over to a booth by the front window and sat down, setting the helmet on the table. She kept watch out the window for Sirius. After a few moments, she got an uneasy feeling. She looked around the diner and saw a man sitting at the counter who was probably somewhere in his late teens or early twenties staring at her. His gaze kept dropping from her face, to up and down her torso. Lauren looked down and saw her shirt clinging tightly from the water. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him. She looked back out the window searching for Sirius. She looked out of the corner of her eyes and saw that he had moved a few places closer.

'Come on Sirius,' she muttered to herself leaning in a little to get a better look outside. She bit her lower lip as she leaned back and looked back to where that man had been and found him standing at the edge of her table. Lauren gave a small gasp of surprise and jumped slightly.

'Hey there sweetheart,' he said. 'Here alone?'

'No,' replied Lauren, slightly nervous. 'My friend should—'

'Well, I'll keep you company till she shows up,' the man said taking a seat next to her.

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Sirius placed the nozzle back in the pump. He brushed his drenched hair out of his face and walked quickly into the station to pay the attendant for the gas. Once paying, he quickly pushed the motorcycle over to the diner. As he was setting the kickstand he glanced up at the diner's windows and saw Lauren leaning against the window apparently talking to some older guy.

'Just like her,' Sirius said to himself. He looked away as a car pulled into the parking lot then cast a quick glance back towards Lauren as he started inside. She was flat against the window and the man's hands were clasped tightly on her upper arms. She was trying hard to push him away as he leaned in. Sirius tossed his helmet that he had been carrying down next to his motorcycle and ran inside as anger rose with in him.

'No! Stop!' Lauren shouted, fighting to escape his grip. Sirius skidded across the tiled floor coming to a stop right behind the twenty-year-old man. He grabbed the man fiercely by his shoulders and pulled him to the ground.

'Leave her alone!' Sirius commanded, glaring at the man. Lauren sat stunned as she stared at Sirius. His teeth were bared and his eyes filled with fury; he had never been so frightening. The man pulled himself off the ground and stood to his full height, just enough for him to glare down at Sirius. Sirius didn't falter once under the stare of the man.

'What's wrong with you boy?' he hissed.

'You,' Sirius growled. He looked as though he were about to launch himself at the man at any moment. 'You better leave her alone.'

'What will you do about it if I don't?' asked the man.

'I'll see to it that you don't leave here alive,' threatened Sirius. The two of them glared at each other for a moment before the man backed down and returned to the meal. Sirius stood for a few more moments glowering at him before turning back to Lauren. His expression had changed to one of worry and relief.

'Are you okay?' he asked sitting down next to her.

'Mhmm,' Lauren replied nodding. 'I'm fine. Thanks Sirius.' She pulled him into a tight hug.

'No problem,' Sirius said, rubbing her back. When they parted, Sirius stood up. 'I think we should leave now and just face the storm,' he said. 'It'll be fun.'

'Sure, let's go,' agreed Lauren. She stood up and grabbed her helmet following Sirius out into the pouring rain. They mounted the motorcycle and sped off out of the town.

As they traveled, the rain grew gradually lighter the further North they got. Sirius was starting to wonder how much further it was until they reached Firan Valley, when Lauren tapped his shoulder. He turned his head slightly.

'There'll be a small dirt road coming up on your right, that'll take you straight to Firan Valley,' Lauren said loud enough for him to hear her. He gave a quick nod and turned back to the road. It wasn't too long before the road came up. Sirius pulled on to it and drove straight till he came to a formation of large boulders surrounded by dense forest. He stopped and turned to Lauren.

'Right through there,' Lauren said, pointing at the center boulder. Sirius revved the engine then sped through the boulder and appeared on the other side in downtown Firan Valley. As he drove down the streets of Firan Valley, Lauren directed him to her home. When they reached Lauren's home, she hopped off and stood next to the motorcycle.

'Well, I guess this is good night,' Lauren said handing the helmet back to Sirius.

'Yeah, I guess so,' agreed Sirius.

'How long will it take you to get back to London?' asked Lauren.

'Four, five hours,' replied Sirius. 'So a good while.'

'Do you really think you're up for driving that far?'

'Oh—' Sirius paused to yawn, 'yeah, I can make it fine.'

Lauren raised an eyebrow skeptically. She grabbed his hand and began to pull him up to the house. 'What are you doing?' he asked as he let himself be dragged by Lauren.

'You're staying here tonight,' she replied. 'I don't want to hear from Lily that you were in the muggle newspapers as "Unknown Teenager Killed in Tragic Accident".'

'Laur, don't worry, I'll be fine,' argued Sirius, trying to pull away.

'You are staying here, Siri, and that's final,' stated Lauren in a way that said her mind was made up.

Once the two of them were inside, Lauren's mother came practically storming out of the kitchen into the entrance hallway, where Lauren and Sirius were pulling of their helmets and shoes. Her mother crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot angrily.

'Lauren, where have you been?' Mrs. Fonseca asked, eyeing her daughter and Sirius suspiciously. 'I expected you home over two hours ago! Why are you soaked? Who is he and what is he doing here?'

'Well, what do you want to know first?' inquired Lauren.

'Just answer the questions,' replied her mother.

'Okay,' said Lauren. 'This is Sirius, a friend of mine who offered to give me a ride home on his motorcycle. I took him up on it and that's why I'm so late. The reason why we're soaked is because we got caught in that nasty storm. And what was that last question? Oh yeah, Sirius is here because I'm not going to let him drive all the way back to London till he's gotten some sleep. So, he's spending the night.'

'If you think I'm going to let you have a boy spend the night—'

'Mother, don't be a dolt! It's not like he'll be staying in my room! He'll stay on the couch.'

'Fine, but if I find out that anything has happened, he will never be allowed back here.'

'Okay, whatever.'

Mrs. Fonseca cast a warning glare at Sirius, before heading up to the master bedroom. Lauren sighed and turned to Sirius.

'I'll go get you a pillow and a blanket,' she said, 'and maybe a change of clothes.' Leaving Sirius standing in the front hallway, she walked upstairs. He glanced around and walked into the living room. He passed the couch and other random pieces of furniture, occasionally pausing to look at divinatory tools. His gaze stopped on a few photographs on the mantle, one catching his eye in particular. It was of a nine-year-old girl that Sirius recognized to be Lauren and a younger boy trying to pull Lauren up into a tree house.

'So that's Scott,' Sirius murmured, venturing a guess to who the boy was.

'It was taken the day before it happened,' a voice behind him said. Sirius looked over his shoulder and saw Lauren standing there holding and assortment of items, looking at the picture in his hands. Sirius set the picture back up on the mantle.

'Well, here's your pillow and blanket,' she said, handing the items then gave him a pair of too large pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt, 'and a change of clothes. If you're not comfortable wearing some of my father's old clothes, there's always clothes that you can borrow from Loni and myself.'

'As much fun as that sounds, I'll stick with these,' replied Sirius.

'Suit yourself. There's a bathroom just past the kitchen; you can change in there. Hang your wet clothes in there also. Good night Sirius.'

'Night Laur.' He watched Lauren leave the room then proceeded to the bathroom to go and change.

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It was early when Sirius woke up, or rather fell off the couch. He sat up rubbing his shoulder and looked out the window to find the sun was barely rising. Using the couch as balance, he pulled himself off the ground. He quickly grabbed the waist of his pajama bottoms before they fell and began to shuffle his way through the kitchen and to the bathroom to change back into his own clothes. He yawned as he exited the bathroom fully dressed and began back towards the living room. He was rubbing his eyes when he ran into something, rather someone considering the fact that he heard a loud gasp of surprise followed by some type of liquid being splashed in his face.

'Thanks, I needed that Laur,' replied Sirius, brushing what ever it was out of his eyes.

'I'm sorry,' Lauren said grabbing a towel off the table and dabbing at Sirius's face. 'I'm not used to other people being up at this hour. You should wash your face before the juice makes it sticky.' Sirius watched her with one eye while he rubbed the other. 'Did I get it in your eyes?' She leaned in closer as she carefully dabbed around his eye. 'Does it—' Lauren was cut off Sirius closing the gap between them pressing his lips against hers. When he pulled back, Lauren hadn't moved and was staring at him with a look of surprise.

'Sorry,' murmured Sirius. 'Just call it a momentary lapse of judgement.' Lauren just blinked and leaned back a little. Sirius passed her and went to the sink. He dampened a rag and began to wipe the juice off his face.

'Was it really that?' Lauren said after Sirius was finished and was drying his face.

'Really what?' asked Sirius, already knowing what she was referring to.

'A momentary lapse of judgement,' she replied.

'I guess.'

'Oh.'

Sirius lowered the towel from his face and looked to Lauren, who he just caught her walking into the living room. He set the towel on the counter and followed her. He stood in the doorway leading to the living room looking curiously at the back of her head as she sat on the couch. It was silent for a while before Lauren spoke up.

'You should get going, your parents might be worried about you,' she said, not turning around.

'It's not like this is the first time I've been gone all night,' replied Sirius, yet walking into the entrance hall to grab his shoes.

'I wouldn't think so,' said Lauren. Sirius returned to the living room and took a seat next to her.

'Did you want it to be something more?' Sirius said as he pulled on his shoes.

'Sorry?' Lauren asked looking up into his eyes.

'In the kitchen, did you want it to be something more?' Lauren bit her lower lip and looked away for a moment, but returned her gaze to him almost immediately. She slowly leaned in and gave him a soft short kiss. 'Can I take the as a yes?' Sirius inquired.

'Of course you can,' replied Lauren. Lauren put her arms around Sirius's neck as he placed his on her waist. As they kissed, Lauren leaned back on the couch pulling Sirius on top of her. As Lauren reached up to run her hands through Sirius, hair, the two of them heard a gasp. Their eyes flashed open and saw Loni standing there.

'Loni, don't—' Lauren started, but was cut off by Loni.

'Dad! Lauren's snogging some bloke on the couch!' she shouted, running towards the stairs to ensure their father heard her.

'Bugger!' Lauren said pushing Sirius up. 'You've got to go. My dad will kill you if he catches you.' She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. They got there just as Lauren's father was coming down the stairs. Lauren flung open the door and was pushing Sirius out when he stopped and gave Lauren a quick kiss goodbye on the cheek before running down the lawn to his motorcycle.

'Owl me!' Lauren shouted as he started up the motorcycle and sped off. She stood at the door watching him ride off when she felt her father's hand grab her shoulder and pull her back inside.

'You won't be speaking to anyone for quite a while young lady,' he said sternly. Lauren's smile fell as she let herself be led inside.

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__

A/n: d00d! Chapter 27 is finally done! It only took me, what, two months? Yup, and too think it only took me: getting a boyfriend, breaking up with him, running on a never ending sugar high (Halloween), turning 16, writing a random part to another story, getting another boyfriend (who I'm debating whether or not to dump), and being sick to get all this done.

And now for my usual chapter summery-ish thingy. As you can see from this chapter, Lauren and Sirius do not get together. The summer will continue in the next chapter. I told you it was going to be a long summer. Sigh, better get working on that. Oh yeah, and if you didn't get the whole 'You won't be speaking to any one for quite a while' thing, that means she's grounded. Sirius also isn't allowed back at the Fonseca household. Hehe. Well, time to get started on 28. I hope I don't get more writer's block…

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	28. Chapter 28

**Sweet Misery**

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An owl glided upon a summer breeze, soaring above the tops of roofs, with a letter clutched tight within its talons. Its golden eyes scanned the land below it in search of its destination. With a loud hoot of triumph, it began to descend to a window of a two-story home. Landing on the ledge outside the window, the owl gave three quick raps on the window. The owl waited a moment for an answer, but didn't receive one. It rapped on the window again then emitted an indignant shriek. Still no one came to the window. The owl shrieked again then removed itself from its perch and flew around the home to find another way to deliver the letter.

At that moment, a black Toyota pulled up in front of the home. Lily Evans climbed out of the back, her arms filled with shopping bags. She adjusted the bags to wave goodbye to her muggle friend, Julie, before turning to head up to her house. As the Toyota drove away, Lily set down the bags to brush her hair off her face. Looking up at her house, she saw a golden owl circling the house. She grabbed her bags and started to jog up to where the owl was, but slowed as she passed a car she had never seen before. She paused to inspect it before continuing to where the owl was.

'Cloud!' Lily said to get the owl's attention. The owl hooted and swooped down, dropping the letter in Lily's outstretched hands. 'Thank you Cloud!' Lily managed to free one of her hands and gave the owl a light pat on the head before it flew off, back to the Fonseca residence. Lily dropped the letter into one of her shopping bags and walked the rest of the distance to the front door. Once inside, she announced her arrival as she walked towards the stairs to take her stuff upstairs.

'Lily, please come here,' she heard her mother say from the living room. A little confused, Lily walked into the living room. On one end of the room sat her mother, the other her father, and between them was a man in a pinstriped suit. She looked from one person to the next.

'Who's he?' Lily asked in regards to the stranger.

'Andrew Dean,' the man replied, standing up. 'I'm your parents divorce lawyer.'

'What?' Lily replied, her eyes widening slightly. Lily tried to comprehend what he had just said. Divorce? He couldn't be serious could he?

'Sweetie, your mother and I are getting a divorce,' her father said.

'It has nothing to do with you, Lillian,' her mother added. 'It's because your father can't keep out of his secretary's pants for one minute of the day.'

'You can't go one minute with out making me seem like the bad guy can you?' her father snapped. 'Well you had your part in this too you know! All those midday escapades with that man from down the street!'

'How dare you! It's because of you that I—' Her parents continued to shout at each other while Mr. Dean tried to break it up. Lily dropped all the things she was carrying, her actions going unnoticed by the adults in the room. Her hands slowly crept up to her ears to try and block out the shouts. She shut her eyes tight and pressed her hands hard against her head wishing that it would all stop. She began to mouth something that, if her parents had been paying attention, would be incoherent. Tears began to stream from her eyes. No matter how much she pleaded silently, none of it stopped.

'STOP IT!' Lily screamed, throwing her arms to her side. All became silent. Lily looked up and saw her parents frozen mid-sentence, not moving at all. They stood like statues, as Mr. Dean looked shocked from her mother to her father then at her. She knew he was questioning himself whether or not she had done this. Lily, shocked by what had happened herself, slowly began to step backwards out of the room. As Mr. Dean was about to say something, Lily turned and ran from the house. She had to get away. She would be in so much trouble with the Ministry. There was no doubt that they already knew what had happened. They'd be arriving at her home at any moment; she couldn't be anywhere near there. Plus returning home would mean facing the fact that her parents were getting a divorce. It couldn't be happening… they never fought. Things were always so peaceful when she was home. Her life was falling apart. The tears began to flow faster as she realized this.

Lily continued to run till she felt as if she was going to collapse. Panting, she looked around at her surroundings only to realize she had no idea where she was. It was no matter; she wasn't going back. She placed her hands in her pockets as she walked down the street to continue on her way. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when she felt her wand in the pocket. She stopped and pulled it out slightly. Lily looked around and saw no one on the street around her. It didn't look as if anyone was in the buildings around her either. She quickly signaled the Knight bus and waited patiently keeping a look out round her. She didn't have to wait long before the bus appeared before her. She climbed on and dug through her pockets and pulled out the only money she had; ten pounds in muggle money. She looked up at the driver.

'Will this do?' Lily inquired softly, not sure if the driver would accept muggle money. Just as the driver was about to turn her away, someone from on the bus held out eleven sickles. Lily looked up and saw a boy she only knew by sight and reputation. She just stared at him, almost questioning his motives. He gave her a slight smile and handed it to the driver. Lily slowly walked back to the seats that had slid to the front of the bus when it came to a halt and picked one, moving it away from the hoard slightly.

'Where to, Miss?' the driver asked.

'Firan Valley,' Lily replied, saying the first place that came to mind. In an instant, the bus sped off, sending the chairs sliding to the back. She kept her eyes down, not looking around.

'Lily Evans, right?' a voice asked. Lily tilted her head up slightly and saw the boy who had paid for her ride. He held out a tissue for her. She took it to wipe her eyes.

'Um, yeah,' she said, her voice a little shaky from crying. 'Thank you for helping me back there… I'll pay you back, I swear.'

'No, forget it,' he replied. 'It's nothing.' He gave her a quick smile before his seat slid from the bus coming to a sudden stop.

'Miraga City,' announced the driver. The boy stood up and made his way off the bus. Lily finished wiping the last of her tears away as the bus began to speed off towards it's next location.

It had all been so sudden… How long had she been in the dark? For all Lily knew, it could have been going on for years. Seeing the signs would have to be hard for her since she was away for three-fourths of the year. Lily kept replaying the scene in the living room over and over. The driver announcing they had reached Firan Valley interrupted her thoughts. Lily stood up slowly and walked off the bus, looking around at her surroundings. This was the first time she had been to Firan Valley, yet now was not the time to be sightseeing.

Lauren was lying on her front lawn when Cloud came gliding down to her, landing on her knees. It hooted in expectation of a reward for a job well done.

'Well you're back,' Lauren said sitting up and petting the owl's wing. 'Let's get you something to eat then you can rest.' As Lauren stood up, she saw someone walking down the street, her head hung.

'Lily?' Lauren said, as the girl got closer. She looked up and practically ran to Lauren. 'Lils… what's wrong?'

'Everything's falling apart' Lily sobbed. Lauren put her arm around Lily, leading her inside asking to be told the entire story.

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'You ran away?' Lauren said as Lily finished the story. Lily nodded. 'Lils, this must be so hard for you… I'll tell you what; I could probably talk my parents into letting you stay a night or two if you at least let your parents know where you are. And hey! No need to worry about howlers!' Lily smiled slightly at Lauren's attempts to cheer her up.

'Thanks Laur…'

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Lily wrote a short letter about her whereabouts to her parents and sent it off with Cloud. The owl, rather indignant about not receiving any rest, took the letter and flew at his own pace. The afternoon grew to evening and evening to night, but Cloud had not returned. The owl had not returned at all that night, but midmorning the next day, the owl returned with a new letter clasped in its talons. Cloud entered the living room through an open window and dropped the letter on Lily's lap. Lauren took Cloud to give him some food as Lily tore open the letter. Lauren returned to the living room to find Lily missing. She looked around and saw Lily standing by the front door pulling on her shoes with tears flowing down her cheeks, a letter clutched tightly with in her hands.

'Lily?' Lauren asked stepping forward.

'I have to go,' Lily replied through her soft sobs. 'Thanks for letting me stay… I have to go.' With that said, Lily flung open the front door and ran out pulling out her wand as she did so. The Knight Bus appeared almost instantly. Shoving a galleon, which she had discovered buried deep within her pockets, into the hands of the driver.

'North Manchester General Hospital,' Lily said, her tears increasing as she spoke. 'Please hurry!'

The driver gave a quick nod and just as Lily sat down, he sped towards Manchester. Lily stared blankly out the window, twisting and tearing the letter in her hands. Her eyes were faded from the tears devoid of happiness. The scenery whipping by the window began to make her sick. She closed her eyes tightly and buried her head in her hands. It wasn't too long after when the bus came to a screeching halt.

'North Manchester General Hospital' the driver announced. Lily practically jumped out of her still sliding chair and ran off the bus, going unnoticed by the muggles around her. Rushing into the hospital, she was immediately met by her father.

'Is she here? Is she okay?' Lily sobbed frantically, grabbing her father's arms.

'They're taking care of her right now Lily,' her father replied. 'We just have to sit and wait. Everything's going to be okay Lily.'

A man in a white lab coat with a clipboard clasped firmly under his arm strode quickly over to Lily and her father. 'Mr. Evans,' he said, pausing only to move the clipboard and grab a pair of glasses from his breast pocket,

'How is she doctor?' Mr. Evans asked, hugging Lily tightly as if doing so would comfort her. Nothing could comfort her till she heard what she wanted to hear from the doctor himself.

'Her condition is stable,' replied the doctor, looking over the chart. 'The crash has left her with a collapsed lung and a serious concussion. We've stitched up the laceration on her forehead and set her broken bones. She's in the ICU as we speak. We're sure that your wife will pull through just fine. I promise she will.' He gave Mr. Evans and Lily a reassuring smile that caused both of them to sigh in relief.

'Can,' Lily said a little unsteadily, 'can I see her?'

'Of course,' replied the doctor. 'Nurse Deans will take you down to your mother's room.' He signaled to a nurse, who came over immediately looking to the doctor inquiringly for her orders. 'Take the Evans down to Marie Evans room.' He handed the nurse the chart. The Nurse turned to the Evans and smiled widely.

'Follow me,' she said. Lily felt elated as she followed her father and the nurse down the white walled corridors of the hospital. The nurse opened the door to her mother's room and inform Lily and her father that she would be just outside if they needed anything. The mess of wires and tubes attached to Mrs. Evans was a bit alarming. The steady beep of the monitor that displayed all her vital stats was just audible over the sound from the corridor outside. Once Lily stepped into the room, she practically ran to her mother's side. She placed bother hands around her mother's left hand and squeezed lightly. The car accident had done a lot of damage, but nothing that couldn't be fixed as far as Lily was concerned. She smiled at her mother before looking up to her father to say something when the monitor began to beep erratically. Lily's head snapped towards the monitor and all the lines had suddenly gone flat. Mr. Evans rushed out to the corridor and began to yell for a doctor.

'Mom!' Lily shouted. 'No! Mom!'

A few doctors and nurses came rushing into the room. A nurse Lily recognized subconsciously as Nurse Dean led Lily out of the room saying something about 'letting the doctors work'. She let herself be led out of the room.

'Please… Mom… don't leave me...' Lily whispered. Lily stared transfixed in fear at the hoard of doctors working desperately to revive her mother.

'Charge to two-hundred!' Lily heard a doctor shout holding two paddles that were connected to a large machine in his hands.

'Clear!' was the last thing Lily heard, as she was lead out into the corridor. She watched through a small window in the door as the doctors tried for a half hour to no avail. She saw the doctor who had spoke to her and her father not too long ago say something to one of the nurses and walk to the door. He ran his hands through his hair exhaling heavily as he did so.

'What happened?" Mr. Evans asked. 'You said she was stable!'

'We failed to discover the internal hemorrhaging, in your wife's stomach,' the doctor said, his voice remaining steady. 'We're sorry we didn't find it sooner.'

'You said she was going to make it through!' Lily shouted. 'You said she'd be okay!'

'I'm sorry,' the doctor replied. 'We did the best we could miss. We couldn't save her. It was just too late.' Lily gave the doctor a look of pure hatred before turning to her father and hugging him tightly as she closed her eyes and repeatedly began to try to wish it all away.

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A week had past and it was only a day before Lily had to leave for Kings Cross Station. She had packed up all the things she would need for school and wandered her house passing by the piles of boxes. She made her way into the living room where her father was sitting on the floor taping a box closed.

'Why do we have to move?' Lily inquired, leaning against the wall across from him.

'We'll be closer to my new job so I'll be able to be home sooner and spend more time with you when you're home for the summer,' Her father replied setting down the tape and picking up a black marker. 'You'll like Carlisle, trust me.'

'I'll try but I can't guarantee anything,' Lily mumbled.

'I know it's hard Lily…' her father said rising from his seat on the floor. 'We're going to make it through this. Maybe a new life is just what we need. Don't worry, you'll make new friends up there.'

'I'm fine with the friends I have, thanks,' answered Lily before walking back up to her room. Her father sighed inwardly and continued to pack.

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_A/n: well, it took about six, seven months, but it's done! I'd like to thank Padfoot for helping me with the hospital thing. It helped INCREDIBLY. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't get that hospital…_

_Do you know how hard it is to fake knowledge of the medical variety? Huzzah for ER._

_Anyway, now I can calm down a little. I finally have finished chapter 28. I also posted another story. It's a Remus/Gwynn fic. I missed writing Gwynn…_

_Oh yeah! Before I forget I have an art page. At this moment, my featured drawing is one I did of Lauren. Or at least how I see her. I also have some of Gwynn up there, but those aren't from Sweet Misery but from my other fic. Here's the link: http:tanshin.deviantart.com_

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	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29:**

Lily stared out the window as the cab slowed to a stop out side of King's Cross Station. Stepping out, she brushed back her auburn hair and walked to the back of the cab where the driver was unloading her trunk. Lily smiled politely and gave the man the fare and pulled her trunk away from the cab and into the bustling station. Grabbing a cart, she placed her trunk upon it and made her way to the wall between platforms nine and ten. She scanned the crowd as she approached the entrance to platform 9 ¾ for any sign of Lauren, James, Remus, Sirius, or Peter. She spotted James just about to go through the barrier and spend up a little to catch up to him. She opened her mouth to call to him when another cart knocked hers over. The lid popped open spilling a few of her books on to the ground. She and whomever bumped into her hastily placed every thing back into the trunk. After making sure to shut the lid tightly, Lily looked up to see who had ran into her. She recognized him as the guy who had paid for her Knight Bus fare.

"So sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I should've been watching where I was going, it's my fault," Lily replied.

"Oh no, it was my fault completely," he insisted. "You obviously had the right of way. It's people like me who don't yield the right of way that cause these near fatal cart accidents." Lily gave a small smile. "Yeah, I didn't think it was that funny either. Can I walk you to the train?"

"Sure, that would be nice Kyle." She smiled once again at Kyle, but this time meaning it. It had been a while since she had actually smiled since the terrible accident her mother had been involved in. She listened half heartedly as Kyle began to ramble on about frivolous things in Lily's mind, such as Quidditch and Hufflepuff's plans to win the House Cup, careful not to let slip any of their secret plays which he made known to Lily. As he continued to speak half coherently, Lily began to examine the features of his face, occasionally nodding as if understanding what he was trying to explain to her. She noticed he had a habit of running his hands through his golden blonde hair when he started to speak about something he knew very little about and how his pale blue eyes lit up when he spoke about Quidditch.

Someone shouting "Lils!" and the sudden feeling of weightlessness as she was lifted off the ground and thrown over someone's shoulder caught her off guard, snapping her out of her study. She gave a yelp of surprise and tried to struggle out of their grasp, but found her efforts futile. She looked back at the head of her capture and recognized the wild black hair.

"I thank you for finding her, Mr. Giovanni," James said, using one arm to hold Lily over his shoulder and the other to shake Kyle's hand who was a little stunned by the sudden action. Kyle just nodded at James, questioning if he had the slightest bit of sanity in his mind. "I don't know what Sirius and I would have done had we not found our dear little Lily before the train had left! Luckily you found her and protected her from those nasty seventh years! She's too young to be mingling with those rascals you know."

"Um, James?" Lily asked, still trying to escape James' grasp, though not as much as when he had initially thrown her over his shoulder. "Could you put me down?"

"I most certainly can't!" James exclaimed with a look, Lily assumed, of great shock. "If I put you down, you might be lost in this mass wave of students! You are coming straight to the compartment, young lady!" James then promptly turned and walked quickly towards the train.

"It was lovely speaking to you Kyle!" Lily shouted over the dull roar of students' voices as James made his way through the crowd, calling for Sirius.

"I'll see you… at… school…" Kyle shouted back, his voice slowly fading as Lily was carried further away. He sighed in annoyance, dragging his and Lily's abandoned trunk to the train.

"Sirius, I found darling Lily!" James shouted, catching Sirius's attention. Sirius promptly came running over.

"We were so frightened we were going to leave without you!" Sirius said feigning worry. He wiped pretend tears from his eyes. "The trip to Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you Lil—" Sirius was cut off by Lauren jumping on to Sirius's back, startling him as he tried to regain balance. Lauren clung to him as Sirius straightened up trying to look as though he knew that was coming.

"Hi Siri," Lauren said, kissing his neck. She smiled as he tried to look annoyed with her, but he gave up quickly and returned her smile. "So, I see James has found you Lily, unless you are James's new girlfriend whom I haven't met yet."

"No," Lily replied, looking over her shoulder to Lauren, "it's me. James decided to 'rescue' me from Kyle Giovanni."

"Gasp!" Lauren exclaimed throwing her hand over her mouth. "Has dear Lillian found romance at last in the arms of a Hufflepuff? Say it is so! I do hate 'Depressed Lily'." Lauren looked eagerly at Lily for her reply. Lily did her best to shrug and say something that was drowned out by the shrill whistle of the train. Lauren looked at her confused as she was carried on to the train by Sirius with James and Lily following.

Lily was finally dropped into a seat in the compartment that Peter had been reserving for the group. Lauren sat across from her, resting her elbows on her knees. James and Sirius had pulled out a deck of cards to play exploding snap while Peter watched, afraid to play. The group sat quietly for a moment till Lauren broke the silence.

"So, is he?" she asked, staring intently at Lily waiting for an answer.

"No, he isn't, but there's a possibility," replied Lily, shrugging nonchalant. "Quite chatty though."

"Quidditch?"

"Of course, he's Hufflepuff's seeker, though he did stray to other topics proving himself to have a multi-track mind. Though Quidditch is fantastic to watch, listening to someone talk about it isn't always so fascinating." Lily opened her mouth to continue, but the door to their compartment slid open and in walked Remus. He dropped into the space between Sirius and Lily and shifted his robes a little, trying to hide a shiny pin under folds of fabric.

"Our resident prefect has just arrived!" Lauren announced as Remus rolled his eyes. "So, how are the other prefects of our year?"

"Dull," Remus replied. "I honestly don't understand how I was chosen to be a prefect. The others refuse to stray from any rules set by the school and if it's not in the rules, you absolutely cannot do it. Those people do not know how to have any fun." A small rustling was heard from his pocket as a white rodent stuck its head out of the top of his pocket. The rodent blinked its bright ruby eyes as it slowly crept out of his pocket and up his arm. Remus had seemed to have taken no notice to the rodent and continued to complain about the prefects that had been chosen. The rodent climbed up to Remus's shoulder and stared across towards Peter, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. The rodent then climbed down Remus's chest and down to his knee. Peter tried to back away from the creature, but found it no use thanks to the seat behind him. In a quick movement, the rodent jumped to Peter's leg and ran up to his shoulder, where Peter promptly gave a yelp of fear and tried to push the rodent off him as the rodent dodged each swipe. Remus looked over and grabbed the white rodent and held back laughter.

"Sorry 'bout that Peter," Remus said, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Rai's a curious little bugger." Peter was trembling and staring at the albino creature in Remus's hands.

"What is it?" Lauren said reaching out and petting it.

"A ferret," replied Remus. "My parents gave it to me as a late birthday gift." Remus loosened his grip on the ferret and let it run around the floor of the compartment. Once the ferret was set on the floor of the compartment, Peter pulled his feet off the ground and clutched his legs close to his chest.

"Aw, what's wrong Peter?" James said teasingly. "Scared of a little ferret?" James snatched the ferret from the ground and held it inches from Peter's face. Peter shrieked and covered his face. The group laughed as the ferret gave a quick chirp and crawled up James's arm and up to his head, where it curled up. After sharing a good laugh, the group resumed their prior actions. Remus joined Sirius and James in a few games of Exploding Snap before losing interest in the game and using the deck for a game of poker. They some how managed to rope Peter into the game. Not wanting to waste money as bets, they put up future homework assignments for the upcoming year. Lily and Lauren's interests were perked when they heard about this and joined the games. Using the rules that who ever had the lowest hand or whose hand exploded first would take the assignments, Peter ended up with the greatest amount of assignments to do. The train was just pulling into Hogsmeade station when Sirius threw down his cards saying "Full house, baby!" As the cards hit the table, there was a loud 'bang' as the cards exploded, catching the corner of the sleeve of his robes.

"I was so close to escaping with no homework to do!" Sirius said checking the little burn left on his robes by the cards. He sighed disappointedly as James swept up the cards and put them in his pocket. The group stood up and made their way out of their compartment and into the hallway with all the other students trying to make their way off the train. Remus's ferret jumped off James's head and on to Remus's shoulder, where he remained.

Once off the train and onto the platform at Hogsmeade station, the students, minus the first years who were herding around Hagrid, walked down to the horseless carriages that would take them up to the castle. Peter once again saw the creatures that he had seen at the end of the prior year. He once again pointed this out to the other Marauders and to Lauren and Lily. The Marauders looked at Peter as if he was losing his mind and continued to walk on. Lauren shrugged and replied, "Sorry Pete, I don't see anything," but Lily stared at the front of the carriages questioningly.

"When did they get creatures to pull the carriages?" she asked. The creatures resembled a horse though it had a face more like a dragon and large wings. They were completely skin and bones, as if they hadn't been fed in a while. The others paused and looked back at Lily then back at the carriages.

"Lily, there's nothing there," James said.

"Yes there is, can't you see them?" Lily replied.

"Maybe they're invisible?" Lauren suggested, shrugging. "You know it's possible for some things to be seen by some people and not by others."

"Let's stop worrying about what's there or isn't there," Sirius said. "I'm starving and I can hear that feast calling my name."

"That's all you ever think about Sirius," Remus commented, shaking his head and moving his ferret into his pocket. Peter and Lily, taking one last look at the creatures in front of the carriages and separated into two carriages; Sirius, Lauren, and Remus in one, and James, Lily, and Peter in another. As soon as the doors to their carriages shut, they began to head down the dirt path towards the castle and the beginning of their fifth year at Hogwarts.

_  
A/n: HOLY CRAP! I'm alive! It's only been… nine months. He he… At least I continued, right? Could be worse I guess. I could have never finished this story. It's just been a really hectic year. In school from 7-6… It can really kill a girl, you know? Anyway, I'm going to move on and work on the next chapter of **Lose it All** before starting on chapter thirty of **Sweet Misery**. That's going to be my pattern of work from now on._


End file.
